Online reading assignment question: interesting Midterm 2 physics topics

Physics 205A Reading Assignment 24, fall semester 2011
Cuesta College, San Luis Obispo, CA

111127-Phys205A-Midterm2-interesting
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Wordle.net tag cloud for interesting topics covered in Midterm 2, generated by responses from Physics 205A students at Cuesta College, San Luis Obispo, CA (http://www.wordle.net/show/wrdl/4480066/Untitled).

Students have a weekly online reading assignment (hosted by SurveyMonkey.com), where they answer questions based on reading their textbook, material covered in previous lectures, opinion questions, and/or asking (anonymous) questions or making (anonymous) comments. Full credit is given for completing the online reading assignment before next week's lecture, regardless if whether their answers are correct/incorrect. Selected results/questions/comments are addressed by the instructor at the start of the following lecture.

List at least three words describing interesting subjects covered in class (up through this midterm). (Graded for completion.)

[Responses have been edited to consolidate related common subjects.]

Student responses
Sections 70854, 70855

collisions, momentum, impulse
momentum, collisions, pressure
torque, stress, strain, pendulum
pressure, strings, stress, strain
physics physics physics
sound, waves, collisions
momentum, torque, buoyancy
density
torque, buoyancy, conservation
buoyancy, collisions, momentum
momentum, torque, inertia
nothing
pendulum, massspring
buoyancy, momentum, leverarms
energy, torque, Eureka!
torque, momentum, collisions
collisions, buoyancy, momentum
fluids flow, sound, stress strain
equations, fluids, work
torque, energy, conservation, momentum
fascinating, informative, simple
torque momentum, conservation work
stress, strain, forces leverarms
collisions, buoyancy, torque
sound, SHM, tension
buoyancy, momentum, conservation, sound
leverarms, buoyancy, momentum
torque, waves, collisions
resonance bridges
impulse, momentum, forces, collisions
buoyancy forces, torque
centerofgravity, torque, stress, strain
buoyancy, conservation, momentum
collisions, statics, collisions
fluids, flow, density, paranormalactivity
impulse, collisions, energy
collisions, impulse, momentum, leverarms
standingwaves sound buoyancy
hard harder hardest
sound, standingwaves, torque
fluids, flow, buoyancy, SHM
buoyancy, torque, momentum
buoyancy, energy pressure

Describe your most interesting subject, and briefly explain why this subject interested you. (Graded for completion.)

The following are all of the student responses to this question, verbatim and unedited.

"Perfectly inelastic collision because it's fun to watch things crash and calculate things about it"

"densities, easy to do"

"Torques, because it's the topic I understood most conceptually and mathmatically."

"momentum conservation"

"sound waves, because its something we can't always see"

"Ch 12- speed of sound was most interesting because it was most applicable to my life. I have played instruments before (wind and string) so it is cool to see how air flows and frequency changes."

"Momentum, Collisions, Torque"

"Using relative buoyancy to calculate the density of an object, because it was a fun lab."

"Torque. I liked it because it is fairly simple to get the hang of and it's fun to see it's application in real life."

"Pressure and buoyancy are most interesting because they directly supplement material I teach at my job."

"momentum, because it describes how to objects interact with ea. other on impact"

"nothing"

"definitely wavelengths and frequencys"

"bouyancy cuz it has a different application that the word"

"The most interesting subject to me that will be covered in this midterm would be stress and strain, you pick one and you'll most likely get both, anyways this subjects interests me the most due to common relevancy it has to everyday life."

"Torque, I understand it well. Plus its helpful information!"

"I really like buoyant forces because the concept was easy for me to understand."

"tress/Strain. I recently took ENGR 252. That is the basis of the class and has always interested me."

"energy conservation"

"Torque."

"Torque, because i find it easy to calculate. It just makes sense."

"there just the most important topics"

"I think elastic forces would be cool to see on a larger scale"

"buoyant forces were the most interesting because they worked counterintuitively."

"harmonic motion, it is cool."

"Sound waves are my most interesting subject of this midterm. It's just really interesting to learn about how something works that is present in you life 24/7!"

"momentum because you were able to relate it to real life car crashes"

"Waves, I had never understood exactly how sound worked, and I found this a fascinating explanation of it."

"lever arms, and I'm not sure. Now when I see a bridge, I see math equations."

"collision's; since the semester started this particular subject interested me the most, no exact explanation but I enjoy this subject."

"i liked the buoyancy forces because i could apply them outside and FINALLY understand it, the lab helped a lot"

"collision/elasticity - it is easy for me"

"I like perfectly inelastic collisions"

"collisions, car crashing are interesting"

"density, because I finally discovered how hyrdrolic pistons work."

"Kinetic energy was the most interesting subject because I like they way the equations work."

"perfectly inelastic, the overall thought process of the problem is what interests me over other physic categories."

"Fundamental Frequencies because i got to learn how bridges fall apart!"

"Torque because I can apply it to working with tools"

"i enjoy real world examples like waves that we see and hear every day"

"'hydrostatic weighing' is a cool alternative method for finding weight and density"

"i like how torque is determined with the lever arms and forces and the fact that if you have a bigger lever arm less force is required to obtain the certain amount of torque"

"Conservation of energy is very interesting to me because the fact that energy is never created or destroyed."