Science

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Newton's Law and Falling Objects

 

Problem:

   Does the weight of an object affect the speed in which it falls?

 

Hypothesis:

   If balls of the same size, but different mass are dropped at the same time, they will reach the ground at the same time because gravity is a constant force that affects all things equally. Air resistance will not have a substantial effect since the balls are about the same size and shape.

 

Experimental Design:

    

Materials:

        Stopwatch

        Volleyball

        Basketball

        Soccer ball

        Dodge ball

        Golf ball

        Recording materials

        Helper

        Triple beam balance scale

   Variables:

Constant: people timing, stopwatch, size of balls, weather,

Independent: mass of the balls

Dependent: rate of falling

External: amount of air in the ball

Procedure:

To do this experiment,  I will need a mat, stopwatch and several balls of the same size but different mass. I will also need someone to drop the balls so I can accurately time the fall. I will have my volunteer helper drop each ball, one at a time, on the count of three from the top bleacher at the football field. I will check the weather in advance, so to schedule the least possibly windy day for the experiment, because weather is an external variable. I will record my results after each drop. I will also drop each ball several times, to get the average and make sure my recordings are accurate. After all of the testing is done, materials will be cleaned up and returned.

 
Observations:

Conclusion:

 

I hypothesized that balls of roughly the same size, but different mass, would fall at the same speed. My hypothesis was supported. Looking at the results of my experiment, the average falling speed for each of the balls was in the .7-.9 second range, but they could not be measured perfectly. You can see this in the graph where one of the timing of the basketball falling is substantially shorter than the rest. Without flawless measuring machines, it is very difficult to communicate to some one dropping the ball the exact time to drop it. Newton's law states that gravity is a constant that affects all things equally. Gravity is the force that is pulling all matter together. Since the Earth has the most matter (biggest mass) near us, we  are being pulled toward the center, keeping us on the ground, and causing the balls to fall at the same rate.I also added a golf ball, to see if the size affected the speed of falling. It was not greatly affected, staying in the same range as the other balls. If there had been a major change in size, shape or height of drop, however, it would be affected by air resistance or acceleration, but this was not a target in my project.

Works Cited

Jones,  Andrew Zimmerman. "Law of Gravity - introduction to Newton's law of gravity." Physics. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Nov. 2011. <http://physics.about.com/od/classicalmechanics/a/gravity.htm>.

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"Newton's Law of Universal Gravitation." The Physics Classroom. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Nov. 2011. <http://www.physicsclassroom.com/class/circles/u6l3c.cfm>.

"Newton's Laws for Kids - Gravity: A Simple Explanation of the Law of Universal Gravitation | Suite101.com." Paul A. Heckert | Suite101.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Nov. 2011. <http://paul-a-heckert.suite101.com/newtons-laws-for-kids-gravity-a41285>.

"What is gravity?." Welcome to QRG. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Nov. 2011. <http://www.qrg.northwestern.edu/projects/vss/docs/space-environment/1-what-is-gravity.html>.

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The Science Behind Viral Pandemics

Author's note: I got the idea to research this topic from the recent movie "Contagion". This is my very first research paper, so I definitely need feedback of how to improve it if you know how to write a proper research paper. That is my only focus besides actual content.

The population of Europe in 1347: approximately 83 million.  Less than 10 years later: half of that- gone.  If this happened today, what would it be like? Throughout history, we've advanced in science, math,  medicine, and built up an intricate web of knowledge . People learn from past experiences, and try to  prepare for the future using it. But every so often, an unknown monster sweeps through, changing  much of what we knew about medicine- like the Black Death. Chaos breaks out, with fear of the  unknown, and there is pressure to find the cure fast enough. Pandemics might just be the worst event to  happen to today's world. How do these diseases manage to spread so quickly, and kill so many?

Virus: a microorganism that invades living cells and uses their chemical machinery to keep itself alive  and replicate. It doesn't take much for a virus to invade our systems. A simple sneeze, cough, or touch of  the hand can bring in a virus, or even a virus load, many viruses at one time. 

From the time the viruses  get into your body, all they need to do is find a host cell to attach to and begin the  process of  infection . A virus is not able to reproduce on it's own. It is basically a string of RNA protected by a sticky  coat. The only enzymes it has are the ones that decode its genetic instructions, therefore it needs the  enzymes of a host cell to replicate itself and further infect your body.

Viruses are covered in an outer  protein coat, known as capsid, that protects the genetic information insides and attaches to a host cell.  Some viruses also have an envelope of liquid membrane that simply enhances the adhesion of the  virus to the membrane. Beneath the outer coats, the virus is constructed of liquid membrane- the RNA. After attaching to the coat of the host cell, the virus inserts its genetic instructions into it, where  the injected genetic material uses the enzymes of the cell in order to replicate. So many new viral particles are assembled that eventually the host cell breaks open, sending all the particles everywhere to attach to a new cell. 

As more and more viruses replicate, your body starts to experience the symptoms. This process can take as few as a couple hours. Most of the time, a little rest, medicine, and trip to the doctor will cure this. But what if during the replication process, something changes? Some viruses we've had around for a while, so it is natural that  we have a vaccine and  our body has some natural immunity to them. However, sometimes viruses mutate. When bodies develop a natural immunity to a virus, the cells will no longer allow it to attach to them. That's when the viruses need to adapt, and change in order to trick the host cell into letting it attach. This allows the virus, once again, to replicate and infect the body. More and more of the mutated viruses are dispersed within the body. The symptoms might even be different. Newly mutated viruses are the most dangerous to our population because doctors don't have the cure yet. And under the pressure of a fatal wave of illness, the pressure to find a cure and vaccine fast is high. No one knows how long this virus will go around, or worse yet, how long an infected person can go on. 

Today's convenient travel doesn't help much either. It can take as little as 48 hours to transport the virus from one side of the world to the other. From there comes  a nightmare. People falling ill, with the same symptoms, and people are so paranoid they refuse to go anywhere near someone with the slightest sign of sickness. But how do we know when a sudden outbreak that is getting more widespread is finally considered a pandemic. Do we have a plan? What would Americans do if an event like this happened?

The World Health Organization (WHO) has broken pandemics up into six stages. The first stage is simply nothing. There is no new sign of an unknown, potentially deadly virus anywhere. In stage two, there are a few cases of new illnesses in animals, but  still none in humans. This virus does, though, pose a threat to people.  Stage three brings the first human infection, though there is no spread from human to human. Although, stage three is the beginning  of the Pandemic alert period. When a few people have fallen ill in the same general, localized area, that means the fourth stage of the pandemic. Next is the fifth stage where there begins to be more human to human transmission, but still hasn't spread much outside of the area. The sixth and final stage alone is the pandemic period. This means that the virus is now widespread across the globe in the general population. The USA and several other countries do have emergency guidelines, and there  are people who, if needed, could somewhat predict and alert people if a pandemic might be approaching. Epidemiologists focus their work on examining new viruses that appear that pose a potential threat to humanity. They create vaccines and, if needed, make medicine. We may not know it, but right now, these specialists are doing everything in their power to protect us from the unthinkable, and hope to never personally find out what a pandemic is really like.

Imagine waking up, into another day of shutting yourself in, away from people. Normal, everyday social activities, such as going to work, school, the grocery store, etc. are no longer an option.  This is life during a deadly pandemic, life that experts in epidemiology, along with the rest of civilization, hope never comes. Although there is no telling exactly what the next pandemic might be like, we are already more advanced in medicine than we were during the last large-scale pandemic. Although these deadly events may hurt us, we also need to have these sometimes. Civilization needs these events to advance, and prepare for future outbreaks. The word pandemic comes from the Greek word "Pan", which means "all", and "Demos" which means people because when a pandemic occurs, it will affect all of the people. Sick or not, it will affect every last person because even the smallest sign of a pandemic strikes fear in every person alike. 

Works Cited

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