Help with physics assignment

GoP-Demon

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For my physics assigment I have to watch some sort of video off of tv and talk about the physics in it. The video has to be on tv after juno 06 though.
So far after looking at top gear and fifth gear, all I can think of is the episode with the P2 subaru and maybe the boat/car episode... If you have any ideas on episodes where they explain the physics please tell me

i know this is a repost but i thought I'd ge tmore hits here
 
I'd use an episode where they tested a supercar and explain the physics behind getting a hunk of steel and aluminum to go around a track quickly. This might be too much for you though...what level of physics are you in, Uni or High School? (I would assume highschool because I've never heard of assignmnets in University level physics :p)
 
maybe the P2 ep where he goes round in circles and makes himself hurl. you could talk about the forces involved in that.

[edit] oh you mentioned that, (squirrel mincer)

are you from the UK? A levels? 6th form?

i'm doing physics in lower 6th form so i'll probably get something like this soon :(
 
the fifth gear thing where tiff raced that stunt plane?

lots of physics involved there
 
matt2000 said:
maybe the P2 ep where he goes round in circles and makes himself hurl. you could talk about the forces involved in that.

[edit] oh you mentioned that, (squirrel mincer)

are you from the UK? A levels? 6th form?

i'm doing physics in lower 6th form so i'll probably get something like this soon :(

I did physics at both A and S levels (NOT AS level, easy to confuse them) At no point did we do any such assignments, but then that was 10 years ago, with the UCLES sylabus.

In the US, things are even worse, Take the A-level, with the S-level add-on, and you've pretty much got the equivilent of a US associates degree in it.

If you really want something a bit more interesting, then I'd suggest the 'indoor speed record' including the comparison between the two vehicles, and the results obtained. About the only other top gear section I think is relevent, or rather 'more than elementary school level' is the dynamics of the toyboata, and the sailboat. Why the toyota nosed down at high power, why the sailboat didn't capsise despite no keel.

The point of these kind of projects is a comparison. be it the 'creations' against their mundane analogues, or the differences between the two indoor vehicles.

I like the 'video after' bit too - means no cheating by copying a pre-existing project.
 
Exige S and another car with the same hp as the S but much slower. Explain weight and how with a lighter car you don't need hp cause of the lack of mass.
 
What aspect of the cars physics do you need to explain? Acceleration? Top speed? Handling? Braking? Everything??

Maybe do something to explain oversteer. That should be fun :)
 
How about something with an F1 car? You can talk about how the lightweight car has less inertia, allowing it to corner better. There's the wide sticky tires as well. Of course you can talk about the wings creating downforce to give the car grip when it has very little weight.

There's a lot of potential here with aerodynamics, momentum, inertia and friction. You could go so far as to explain how the wings on an F1 car are the same shape as an aircraft wing mounted upside down and the principles of lift applied to creating down force. You can even talk about Ventrui tunnels and boundary turbulence layers over the car's skin.

I don't know all the math, but I'm kind of an aviation and engineering nut. If there's any way I can help out hit me with a PM and we can set up a time to talk. I have access to a Team Speak server if you have a mic.
 
Man any car at the track would work well. Aero (Downforce, co-efficent of drag, Changing Fg acting on suspension load and how that works with the Normal Force.) Brakes (turning Kinetic engery to Thermal) Tire grip (Co-effiecent of friction (mew) on the track at cornering, Chaning grip level of tires at different temps) ect ect.
 
TopGearFan+ said:
Best assignment: don't do anything :D
Are you Piddington or do you just want to be like him.
 
epp_b said:
Maybe do something to explain oversteer. That should be fun :)

Because I like the idea I'll get the ball rolling...

A car has a moment of inertia.
The rear wheels are in static frictional equilibrium with the ground initially.

So you have a system of forces in equilibrium... when you add power to the rear wheels such that they slip, you're no longer in a static equilibrium as the wheels are spinning freely. Now there's force imbalance. Rotation ensues.
 
optimusprime said:
epp_b said:
Maybe do something to explain oversteer. That should be fun :)

Because I like the idea I'll get the ball rolling...

A car has a moment of inertia.
The rear wheels are in static frictional equilibrium with the ground initially.

So you have a system of forces in equilibrium... when you add power to the rear wheels such that they slip, you're no longer in a static equilibrium as the wheels are spinning freely. Now there's force imbalance. Rotation ensues.
More specifically, you change from static friction to dynamic friction, which generally differs in the corefficient factor. Of course, tyres are one of the worst things to discuss in relation to friction and coefficients of it, because rubber is the rare exception to the rule, in that ? is R variable.
 
Well, James did have a bit of a physics moment in the Winter Olympics when they jumped the mini off the ski slope.

If you really need some material to get physics out of, watch an episode of mythbusters. At least 1 of the myths will have something to do with physics.
 
MMM the P2 episode sounded like it had the most technical discussions. These are all great ideas! I'm 16 and in grade 11 Canada. My teacher is british though... And it can be on anything on physics. Maybe I'll do the elise or oversteer.
 
gop - I still think that a comparison on the indoor 'speed record' is going to be the best for you. Its a comparison, teachers like that. Your teacher will know Top Gear, and will appreciate the cultural outreach. It also shows force dynamics, , plus, most importantly, figures for both the lisetti and the F1 car are fairly easy to find (mass, power, torque, etc) as well as the factors for the arena (size, floor etc). The p2's electronic diff is more suited to an engineering class than a physics one (in that how it works, the physics behind it is very simplistic and shouldn't take more than half a side to write up.

Physics Teachers like 1) facts
2) to be drowned in data
3) comparisons, or equivilence testing
4) most importantly, that conclusions/modifications/improvements can be made.

Iused to do most of my homework way back when, with a friend. His parents were both Physists ( they met at university, when they were doing the same degree). His father worked as head of Magnetics at Daresbury research lab, whilst his mother was head of Physics at Belvedere school for girls (one of the top girls schools in the North west of england) Anything physics related of ours, she'd read over. Thats how I came to learn just how important that fourth point is. Any kind of scientific discussion or evaluation (which is what you're basically doing) is incomplete without a conclusion. ingeneuitous as the p2's power distribution is, there's not much of a conclusion that can be drawn except "its pretty damned good" :thumbsdown:

In short, she's asked you do take a video clip, and spot the experiment in it. An experiment needs a variable.

Seriously, you're 16, you're beyond just sticking to the simple describing the forces on an object. You need to be actually quantifying, theorising, manipulating the figures. You've got your static and dynamic friction, your equations of motion and all the rest to play with.
 
The OP could make his job a LOT easier by using a clip from Brainiac: Science Abuse instead ... :D
 
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