Right Hand Rule 1 + 2

The Right hand rules are used to determine the direction of current and the north and south poles of a conductor or coil. The Right hand rule literally uses your right hand to measure these things. With a conductor, you wrap your right hand around it and bend your fingers in, similar to a 'cat'. The direction in which your thumb is pointing is the direction of the flow of current. The fingers symbolize the invisible magnetic field around the conductor.

This is known as the Right hand Rule.

Concept Mapping

Today, our class experimented with a new method of learning called "Concept Mapping". Instead of writing down notes, you link ideas together with verbs in a sort of web. This is our groups concept map:

The title "electricity" is placed in the middle with different ideas such as "ohm's law" and "kirchoff's law" linked to it. Then, there are links to similar subjects with verbs. For example, voltmeter is connected to volts with the verb " measured with".

       10 things to know for this unit:
1. Ohm's Law
- The VIR triangle
2. Kirchoff's Law
- All the formulas for calculating voltage, current, and resistance in series and parallel circuits
3. e= 1.6*10^-19 C
4. Current = Q/t
-Q is coulomb charge
- t is time in seconds
5. How to draw / understand circuit diagrams
- resistor symbol
- power source symbol
- where the ammeter and voltmeter goes
- ability to identify series from parallel circuits

Ohm Vs. Kirchhoff

Ohm's law states that voltage has direct relation to current. When voltage is high, so is the current and vice versa. Also, resistance is stays the same in different circuits. These concepts can be explained by the simple formula : V=R*I. One can easily remember this formula by drawing a triangle, placing V at the top and R and I on the bottom.

Kirchhoff's law is used for complex circuits and uses lots of formulas that correspond to either series circuit or parallel circuit to determine current, voltage, and resistance. In a series circuit, current (I) can be expressed as I(t) = I(1) = I(2) = I(3) =...=I(n). This means that throughout a series circuit, the current stays constant. In a parallel circuit, current is expressed as I(t) = I(1) + I(2) + I(3) +...+I(n). The current in a parallel circuit is the sum of all the loads' currents.
Voltage, in a series circuit, is expressed as V(t) + V(1) + V(2) + V(3) +...+V(n). In a parallel circuit, voltage is expressed as V(t) = V(1) = V(2) = V(3) =...=V(n). However, resistance is a bit different. In a series circuit, resistance is calculated as R(t) = R(1) + R(2) + R(3) + ...+R(n). In a parallel circuit, resistance is expressed as 1/R(t) = 1/R(1) + 1/R(2) + 1/R(3) +...+ 1/R(n).

Energy transformation

Voltage, also known as "potential difference" can be measured by a device called a voltmeter. 

 Similarly, current can be measured with an ammeter. ( coloumbs charge / second)

We also watched a small video explaining energy transformation from a battery to the circuit. The battery charges electrons and sends them to the load. There, the electrons let off energy which transforms into heat. The electrons then travel back to the battery to become charged again.

Favourite Roller coaster Design Feb 9 11

My favourite roller coaster design was the one themed around the movie "Inception". Basically, the group took different events from the movie and created a roller coaster with it. For example, many destroyed buildings are present in Inception. So, the coaster features a track that twists and turns around similar buildings. There was also an airplane in the movie that the characters were traveling on. Around the top area of the roller coaster, the group constructed a small airplane replica which was quite interesting. Overall, this roller coaster had an interesting theme and built solidly.

Energy ball feb 6 2011

Today, our class was split into groups and experimented with "Energy Balls": little ping pong balls that lit up and made sounds when you touched it. Each group was given questions about the energy ball to discuss. Then, the entire class got together to make parallel and series circuits. We learned that a parallel circuit had multiple ways for energy to flow through and a series circuit had only one.

Compared to regular note taking, this experiment was quite fun.