The second link is the actual article put up by a great blogger at Wired.com (check out some of his other stuff, you might like it): http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2012/01/are-expensive-batteries-worth-the-extra-cost/

We are going to expand on his experiment in class.

You can access the Equation Sheet I'm giving you here: Equation Sheet for IB Midterm

Also, refer to the IB Command Terms document...this helps you distinguish between "derive", "state", and "solve": IB Command Terms

Looking over the test, here are a few things you might want to make sure you understand well:

• Power (rate at which work is done, Fv, W/t)
• Efficiency (energy out/energy in *100)
• P-V Diagrams

Band students, it's just bad luck that our exam fell on the day after the band concert...them's the breaks sometimes.  Just study the best you can when you can.

You are allowed an index card of notes on the test...fill it with whatever you want.

What topics will be on the miderm?

• 1-D and 2-D Kinematics
• Forces (friction, normal, gravity, etc...)
• Energy Stuff (including work, power, and Conservation of Energy)
• Momentum (this should be pretty fresh in your head)

The point of the midterm is for you to show me what you have learned this past semester.  that being said, I'm not going to kill you with the toughest problems I could think of.  You can expect the test to be very similar to a normal test we take (4 free response questions, ~10 multiple choice) and that each free response question will use two or more different areas we've talked about this semester.

An important thing to pay attention to in Physics is relationships.  If you have a problem with force and distance...you should think about how the two of them are related (force*distance=work)...work is related to energy...so I'm going to use energy to solve this part of the problem.

What will I have to help me on this test?

You will have the AP Equation Sheet (it should be looking pretty familiar by now...)

You will also be allowed one 3x5 notecard on which you can write anything you want (front and back). I like the idea of cheat sheets...not necessarily because they give you better grades on the test, but they make you think through what information is most important to know on the test.

Study well...get some sleep Sunday night...and look forward to one of the most blessed and amazing holidays of the year coming up on Wednesday.  My brithday.  Chrismas.

• Conservation of Momentum
• Types of collisions
• Inelastic
• Elastic
• Perfectly Inelastic (sticking together)
• Superelastic (explosions)
• Implications of an elastic collision
• Impulse (with constant and varying forces)
• Collisions in 2 dimensions

• Conservation of Momentum
• Impulse (with a constant force and a varying force)
• Elastic Collisions.

• Read the first two sections in Chapter 12 and in the back of the chapter answer questions 3, 6, 10, 14
• Finish the lab writeup from the Absolute Zero Lab and submit via Turnitin.com

Some random notes to keep you warm on a cold winter night:

• Don't forget that I want the write-up to the absolute-zero lab we did on Wednesday in the "Turnitin.com" box by Monday.  I want you to write up the last half of a report (I set up the experiment for you).  You'll need to state data, show anything you did with the data, make a graph, analyze, form a conclusion, look at errors, etc...  The standards by which I will grade the submission are IB's standards, and they are listed on the assignment handout.  Remember that while you can use the same data as your partner (obviously)...everything else must be your own.  The Internal Assessments are done completely individually so you must get used to figuring these things out by yourself.
• Our test on thermodynamics will be Thursday, December 8.  It will cover pressure, thermodynamic changes, work done by an ideal gas, and the 1st and 2nd Laws of Thermodynamics. You got a handout on the first day of the chapter that you should be referring to to make sure you keep up with all the standards.
• I found a really good site that has good information on Thermo (and everything else we cover)...it's at http://dev.physicslab.org/Document.aspx?doctype=3&filename=Thermodynamics_GasProcesses.xml.  Check it out!
• As we are in parts of Physics that I'm not as familiar with as others, I've been relying on the book to help refresh my memories on a few things.  I have found the study guide I recommended earlier MUCH more helpful than the book.  This is the link to the Amazon page.  It's tough to find this book in the States but I can't recommend it any higher.
• Finally...our midterm is Wednesday, December 14. This is a memorable day because not only is it the midterm day, it's also my birthday. Please shower me with gifts.  The midterm will be a comprehensive test that covers everything we have talked about thus far.  We will certainly prepare for this on Monday and Tuesday of that week.