Discussion:
First Law of Thermodynamics and Acceleration of a Car
Q1: The word acceleration means that something is speeding up or slowing down .......its speed (velocity) is changing. If you are driving on the highway at 60 mph then you are going at a constant speed (velocity) there is no acceleration. If you change your speed up or down, then, during the time that the speed was being changed you were accelerating. To solve the dynamics problem we must allow the car to accelerate using the ¾ horse power motor. At some speed that motor will not have the energy/power to keep accelerating. At that point the car has reached its highest speed and will then continue running at a constant speed. When acceleration reaches zero the car will be going its maximum speed. what keeps the car from going faster and faster and faster. What are these things and what are they called. Are some of them constant? Do some of them get bigger as the car goes faster? Which of these forces are so small that we can leave them out? Which are the major players that keep anything rolling from rolling forever? Something makes it stop. How does an engineer use their critical thinking skills to solve these questions?
Q2: What are some ways people use mathematics to communicate ideas?