A big part of physics is the equations we use to solve for various aspects of concepts and ideas. I often feel as though the equations are nothing more than a series of numbers and letters that if I'm lucky enough to memorize, I can hopefully plug in some values here and there. However, in further explorations of accelerated forces today, I have a genuine understanding of the equations and the concepts they enforce.
F(net)=ma. Because acceleration is multiplied by mass to find force, these variable are inversely related! That means that as mass increases acceleration will decrease and vise versa! This concept was illustrated perfectly in the Air Track Lab we did. As we added more mass to the dragging object, the acceleration of the entire system decreased. But when we decreased the mass of the dragging object (and/or added mass to the falling object) the overall acceleration increased! This makes sense since the objects with more mass exert a greater fore of weight downward and objects with more weight have more inertia and are harder to move or accelerate!
Understanding that equation relates directly to the understanding of the following:
Total acceleration = weight of falling mass (m*g)/ total mass of all the objects
By dividing these variables you clearly illustrate their relationship. The equal sign between "total acceleration" and "weight of the falling mass" means that they are directly related and as the weight of the falling mass increases, total acceleration will increase.
This is such a good explanation of what we learned! You teach it well :]
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