Re: [Phys-L] 9th grade energy resource projects

[Marty Weiss <martweiss@comcast.net>]

Ah... you beat our lab by one flight of stairs. (we had four flights).   That lab was so popular that even the football players who weren't part of the physics classes took part with the blessing of the coach.  And the principal blocked off that part of the school so no one would interfere with the annual "Physics Stairwell Run".    

On Dec 13, 2014, at 8:03 PM, Chuck Britton wrote:

> I’ve recently had some students from back in the 80’s remind me of our HS Physics lab that had them (voluntarily) running up five flights of stairs. Measuring the vertical displacement, their weight and the elapsed time. Calculating their average Power during the exercise.
>
> VERY rarely could a student break One Horsepower. 
>
> These students used both their arms AND their legs to propel themselves upward. (Just a s horses do)
>
> It was important for them to grab the railing to pull up the stairs AND to pull inward while swinging themselves around (inward) on each landing. Lots of good lessons to be recalled as we got to Circular Motion etc.
>
> Some have been able impress their current employers by doing ‘off the cuff’ Units Analysis when others have fumbled.
>
> (Take Care of your Units - and your Units will Take Care of YOU ! ! !)