Cortney Kesler

Class Project
Physics 1010-400, Physics 1010-401
Fall 2015
Part 1: Star Identification:

Rigel Kentaurs

Hada

Gacrux

Epsilon Centauri

Name: Rigel Kentaurs /Alpha Centauri

Distance in Light Years: 4.3 light years
Age of light seen: 176 years (1839)
Size compared to Sun: 1.1 solar masses and a diameter 1.23 times the Sun
Luminosity: 1,590 K
Name: Hadar/Beta Centauri
Distance in Light Years: 525 light years
Age of light seen: 525 years (1490)
Size compared to Sun: 9.5 times the Sun
Luminosity: 41,700 L
Name: Gacrux/Gamma Crucis
Distance in Light Years: 88 light years
Age of light seen: 88 years (1927)
Size compared to Sun: 14 times the Sun

Luminosity: 1,500 L
Name: Acrux/Alpha Crucis
Distance in Light Years: 321 light years
Age of light seen: 321 years (1694)
Size compared to Sun: 10-14 times the Sun
Luminosity: 25,000 L

Part 2: Equation Analysis:

Equation 1: E = mc

Question 1: Find out what the things in this equation (using your book or a net search will do it)
are and identify them as either variables or constants.
E = energy; variable
m = mass; variable

c = speed of light; proportionality constant

Question 2: What is the size of c ?
Proportionality constant of energy and mass
2

Question 3: Are mass and energy related? Answer yes or no and then provide a brief
explanation of your answer based on the analysis of the equation.

Yes, mass and energy are related because the more energy the particle has, the more mass it will
have.
Question 4: Analyze the statement: if it is possible to change mass into energy a little bit of
mass could produce a lot of energy. Is it true or not? Provide a brief explanation based on your
analysis of the equation

Equation 2: d = gt /2
2

where:
d = distance an object falls when released from rest (no air resistance)
g = acceleration of gravity at the Earths surface
t = time the object has been falling
Question 5. Which of the following statements do you agree with and why? Use the equation to
support your answer (you can also refer to the learning from equations module files).
a) heavy objects fall faster than lighter objects
b) objects fall at the same speed (if no air resistance) and weight doesnt matter.

I agree with statement B because no matter what an object weights the force of gravity will be
the same making the speed the same as well. The variable in the equation that will be changing
is the t because we are trying to measure the distance an object falls.
Equation 3: v = gt
where:
v = velocity of a falling object if released from rest (no air resistance)
g = acceleration of gravity at Earths surface

t = time the object has been falling

Question 6: Which of the following statements do you agree with and why? Use the equation to
support your answer (you can also refer to the learning from equations module files).
c) heavy objects fall faster than lighter objects
d) objects fall at the same speed (if no air resistance) and weight doesnt matter.

I agree with statement D because we are trying to find the velocity of a falling object with this
equation. So the variables representing speed and weight of the object wont matter because
acceleration is constant.
Question 7: For most of recorded history, people thought that heavy objects naturally and
under all conditions fall faster than lighter objects. Why did it take us so long to realize the true
state of affairs?
It took so long for us to realize the true state of affairs because if you do a simple experiment
and drop a lighter object and a heavier object at the same time, the heavier object would hit the
ground first. It wasnt until the air resistance was able to be removed that we discovered they
would fall at the same acceleration. You could argue that we were just waiting for the proper
technology to be discovered, aka the vacuum.
Question 8: The Earths gravity DOES exert a greater force on heavier objects than lighter
ones (these forces are called weight). However, with no air resistance objects fall at the same
speed in a given gravity field. The weight difference can be thousands of pounds to one and the
objects still fall at the same speed. What physical property of mass compensates for the
difference in applied forces?

The physical property of mass that compensates for the difference in applied forces is inertia.
This is because the more weight an object has, the more it will resist acceleration. So if you
apply more inertia on an object, it will fall at the same speed as a lighter object.
Equation 4: e = 1 T /T
cold

hot

where:
e = efficiency of energy use
T = the temperature of the environment surrounding the heat engine
T = the internal operating temperature of the engine
cold
hot

This is the equation for the efficiency of a heat engine (your car is a heat engine unless you
have an electric model). An e = 1 is 100% efficiency, meaning 100% of the energy gets used to
do what you want to do with no wasted, unrecoverable energy. An e = 0 is an efficiency of zero
with none of the energy going to what you want to do and all of the energy being wasted or in
unrecoverable forms.
The temperatures in this equation are in the Kelvin scale where the lowest temperature is 0
degrees. There are no negative temperatures in the Kelvin scale. A temperature we might
encounter on Earth would be about 300 degrees Kelvin.

Question 9: Is it possible to achieve 100% efficiency, in theory, by lowering the temperature of

the environment surrounding the heat engine (T )? Why or why not?
If Tcold could equal zero then its possible to have 100% efficiency in theory.
cold

Question 10: Is it possible, in practice, to achieve 100% efficiency by lowering the temperature
of the environment surrounding the heat engine (T )? Why or why not?
cold

There isnt a way to achieve 100% efficiency by lowering the temp of the environment
surrounding the heat engine because there is always a release of heat. Only some of heat can
converted into work.
Question 11: Is it possible to achieve 100% efficiency, in theory, by raising the internal
operating temperature of the heat engine (T )? Why or why not?
hot

If you could raise Thot high enough and Tcold remained constant, then, in theory, its possible to
achieve 100% efficiency.
Question 12: Is it possible to achieve 100% efficiency, in practice, by raising the internal
operating temperature of the heat engine (T )? Why or why not?
Its never possible to achieve 100% efficiency in practice by raising the internal operating temp
because Thot cant equal Tcold. Heat is always being released.
hot

Question 13: If your car is not electric, it is a heat engine and is subject to the efficiency
equation. Is it possible to build a car, using any kind of burning fuel, that is 100% efficient?
Explain.

No, you wont be 100% efficient because if youre burning fuel, youre losing energy. Losing
heat will decrease how much can be converted to work.

Part 3: Learning about a Law of Physics

The law of conservation of energy is that energy cannot be created or destroyed; it may be
transformed from one form into another, but the total amount of energy never changes.
Examples:
1. When a moving car hits a parked car, the parked car moves. The energy from the
moving car is transferred to the parked car.
2. A sledge hammer hits a cube of ice. The energy from the sledge hammer transfers to
the cube of ice shattering it and causing the pieces to fly in different directions.
3. When a bowling ball knocks over the pins that are stationary, the energy from the
bowling ball is transferred to the pins, making them fall over.

Part 4: Impact Crater Identification

Name: Meteor Crater/Barringer Crater

Location: Arizona
Suspected Age: 50,000 years

Name: Wolf Creek

Location: Western Australia
Suspected Age: 300,000 years

Name: New Quebec

Location: Canada
Suspected Age: 1.4 million years

Name: Clearwater Lakes

Location: Canada
Suspected Age: 29020 million years