Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Roshashana Online Assignment

We did not have class again today, but we were required to do an online assignment. The Roshashana online assignment involoved hanging different sizes of weights on springs that are hanging from a wall. It was interesting because we had a ruler we could move around to meausre how far the springs went down after hanging the different sized weights on them. You could also adjust the time. By adjusting the time to 1/4 time, the springs moved down slower. By adjusting the time to 1/16 time, the springs moved down even slower than before.
You can also adjust the friction. When there is no friction, the springs keep bouncing up and down when you hang a weight on them. When there is alot of friction it barely bounces at all. By adjusting the softness of the springs, you can see how different sized springs are affected by the weights. By making the spring really hard (or thick), it is not affected much by even the heaviest weights, and barely even moves when you hang the smallest weight on it.
You can also show the engergy of each of the three springs on a chart. I hung a different sized weight on each of the springs and showed a chart of all three of them. The total energy is higher when you hang a heavier weight on the springs. The lighter the weight, the less the total energy. My favorite part of the Roshashana assignment was seeing how the weights would affect the springs on Earth, the Moon, Jupiter, and Planet x. For example, if you were to hang a weight on a spring on the moon, the spring barely moves even after hanging the most heavy weight on it. This is due to the lack a gravity on the moon. Overall, I enjoyed the Roshashana Online Assignment.

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