Tanner Dunkley

Class Project
Physics 1010-500, Physics 1010-501
Spring 2018

Star Identification
The photo and chart below shows the Constellation Cygnus. You can see this
from your own backyard during the summer. Cygnus is supposed to be a swan
but can also be known as the Northern Cross.

In this chart I have picked 4 stars from the Cygnus Constellation. The chart
shows how far the star is from Earth, when the light of the star left, the radius of
the star compared to our sun, and luminosity compared to our sun.

Star Name Distance from Earth Light left Star Radius compared to Luminosity
in light years (LY) Sun compared to Sun

Deneb 3200 LY 3200 years ago 203 X Sun 196,000 X Sun

Sadr 1800 LY 1800 years ago 160 X Sun 33,000 X Sun

Gienah 72.7 LY 72.7 years ago 11 X Sun 62 X Sun

Albiero 430 LY 430 years ago 69 X Sun 1200 X Sun

Cygnus Star Constellation
Equation 1: E = mc2

 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 that mass has at rest

M: Mass
C: Speed of light and is a constant
C^2: is the proportionality constant of energy and mass.
E is a variable and M is as well.

 Question 2: What is the size of c2?

The speed of light squared or 33,489,000,000 miles per sec.

 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.

This relationship between energy and mass is a key to understanding why and how
energy is released in nuclear reactions. All mass contains pent up energy.

 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

It’s true because with a little bit of mass you can produce a lot of energy but with a lot of
energy, it only makes a little bit of mass. It is easier to make energy from mass, than
energy into mass. “What makes it particularly hard is the c2 term, the speed of light
squared. It accounts for the huge amounts of energy released in nuclear reactions, and
the huge amount you’d need to inject to turn energy into matter.” (Rodgers, 2018)

Equation 2: d = gt2/2

…where:

d = distance an object falls when released from rest (no air resistance)
g = acceleration of gravity at the Earth’s 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

I disagree that heavy objects fall faster than lighter objects; they fall at the same rate.
Weight or Mass are not functions of the equation. Gravity is a constant rate, so things fall
at the same rate without air resistance.

b) objects fall at the same speed (if no air resistance) and weight doesn’t matter.

Yes, I agree with this statement; acceleration and time are part of the equation but
weight is not.

Equation 3: v = gt

…where:

v = velocity of a falling object if released from rest (no air resistance)

g = acceleration of gravity at Earth’s 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

No, I disagree; they fall at the same rate. Weight or Mass are not functions of the
equation. Gravity is a constant rate at earth’s surface, so things fall at the same rate
without air resistance.

d) objects fall at the same speed (if no air resistance) and weight doesn’t matter.

Yes I agree with this. The gravitational force is the same on all objects. The reason that
some items might fall faster than others is simply because of air resistance.

Now go online and view this link. If the link is inoperable go to google video and do a
search on “Galileo hammer feather experiment”.
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4mTsrRZEMwA

 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?

There wasn’t a great way to prove otherwise because earth has air resistance and that
affects the rate objects fall. There is not a good environment, on earth, to test the
hypothesis.

 Question 8: The Earth’s 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?

Density. Items that have the same mass but different densities will fall at a different
speed. An item that has more density will fall faster than an item with less density,
because their weights are different.

Equation 4: e = 1 – Tcold/Thot

…where:

e = efficiency of energy use

Tcold = the temperature of the environment surrounding the heat engine
Thot = the internal operating temperature of the engine

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 (Tcold)? Why or why
not?

Yes you could but the environment would have to stay at absolute zero. For example:
(400-0)/400=1

 Question 10: Is it possible, in practice, to achieve 100% efficiency by lowering

the temperature of the environment surrounding the heat engine (T cold)? Why or
why not?

No, because it is impossible to maintain an absolute zero environment.

 Question 11: Is it possible to achieve 100% efficiency, in theory, by raising the

internal operating temperature of the heat engine (Thot)? Why or why not?

In theory it’s correct but in real life, it’s not practical to do so.

 Question 12: Is it possible to achieve 100% efficiency, in practice, by raising the

internal operating temperature of the heat engine (Thot)? Why or why not?

No, because if you continue to increase the temperature the engine would fail because
of too much pressure/heat. The engine would end up melting or exploding.

 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 can’t. Only some of the heat can be converted to work. You will always lose
some of the energy.

Part 3: Learning about a Law of Physics

Pick any Law or Principle of Physics in your textbook and:

The Law of Inertia

1. Give me an explanation of what it is and what it means.

Inertia is a property of matter that causes it to resist changes in velocity (speed and/or
direction). According to Newton's first law of motion, an object with a given velocity
maintains that velocity unless acted on by an external force. Inertia is the property of
matter that makes this law hold true. (WhatIs.com, 2018)
2. Give me 3 examples in the real world involving the law or principle

1) Pulling a tablecloth from the table with dishes on top and if done correctly inertia will
cause the dishes to stay in place.

2) Shaking a bottle of ketchup will cause inertia. Every time you shake the bottle, inertia
will cause the ketchup to come out of the bottle.

3) If you are in a moving car and the car is at a constant speed, a ball tossed into the air
will go straight up and then come down. This is because of inertia.

Part 4: Explanation of Fermi’s Paradox and possible resolution

This involves the possible existence of alien life in the Universe. A net search should
bring up some immediate information on the subject.

1. Clearly explain what this paradox involves and why it is a paradox.

The Fermi’s Paradox is a paradox that asks, “Are there aliens in the Universe?”
So if we are such a young solar system, how come other aliens haven’t come and
visited? For every one-grain of sand there are 10,000 planets. With this many planets,
many of which are older than earth and could sustain life, why is there no evidence of
aliens?

2. List and briefly explain (like in a paragraph for each) 4 possible resolutions to the
paradox.

1) They could have already been here and we just don’t know that they have
visited. Since there isn’t any evidence they may have come and left without us
knowing.
2) We could be the first “aliens” and need to start exploring. Other planets may
actually behind our technological developments and can’t explore like we may be
able to do some day.
3) Life may take longer to create and we just don’t know that yet. Life is very fragile
and other planets may not have developed to the point to sustain life like Earth
has.
4) Nobody has the capability to travel to other planets. The time to travel to another
planet takes longer than a civilization can exist.

Bibliography Page

Rodgers, P. (2018). [online] Forbes.com. Available at:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/paulrodgers/2014/05/19/einstein-was-right-you-can-turn-energy-
into-matter/#3a940a2226ac [Accessed 6 Jul. 2018].

WhatIs.com. (2018). What is inertia? - Definition from WhatIs.com. [online] Available at:
https://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/inertia [Accessed 12 Jul. 2018].