Physics Reflection Paper

Whether we realize or not, physics is a very prominent thing in all of our lives. Physics can be used to explain why just about everything in this world works the way it does. In physics class we learn multiple equations and how to apply those equations to multiple different problems and examples, but what happens when we try to apply these concepts ourselves in a real world situation? When first introduced to the Pack a Pringle project, I couldn’t believe how ridiculously easy of a project we had gotten. However, once I started to develop my own design and tested it out with the chip I realized how wrong I was. My partner and I came up with multiple different ideas, but we struggled to get a successful design down until the purpose of the

This required materials that would be able to slow down our chip as it hits other objects and reduce the forces placed on it while it is being tossed around and gaining momentum. We also kept in mind that this momentum would be something that we couldn’t control, but the force and time was possible. We ended up using a sponge to protect our chip. We cut the sponge in half and then created holes in both halves that were big enough to house the chip once the sponge was taped back together. This was necessary in order to keep from crushing the chip when putting the sponge back together and also ensuring that it stays inside the sponge. The sponge worked because it provided the chip with a soft surface when it was tossed around while being mailed. The sponge was able to increase the time that it took for the sponge to collide with the things around it and thus, reduce the force of the

In this lesson we learned about how momentum, collisions, and impulse all work together to affect motion and how they all affect the things we see occur in our lives. There are many things in our lives, such as shipping something as a fragile as a chip, that just aren’t possible without applying physics. Before this project I never even thought about how something is packaged and shipped from place to place, but I now realize there’s a lot more that goes into it. We do not live in a perfect world and some things aren’t as easy as just labeling a package “Fragile” and hoping it will turn out alright. There are times where we have to take things into our own hands and apply the things we learn in order to be successful and overcome the obstacles that try to stop us from getting to that point. I now have an even better understanding of the relationship between momentum, collisions, impulse, and motion and am able to recognize the four working together in many situations throughout my