Today our class had the opportunity to ride a real hovercraft! It was surprisingly simply made from a lawn mower. Riding the hovercraft was really interesting, you were sitting completely still but your entire body was moving too! If you plan on riding a hovercraft in the future wear pants since your sitting indian style and make sure you don't go too fast.
Riding a hovercraft is different from riding most other vehicles because it does not have the friction of the ground to stop it from moving, which is why if your going too fast you wont be able to stop without a large jolt. Also, the amount of inertia increases as mass increases. Naeem had the most mass in our class, so it was harder to start and stop him on the hovercraft. A net force was being exerted on the hovercraft from the force of the air pushing the hovercraft up and the force of the student who accelerated the hovercraft. A net force is when there is more than one force being exerted onto an object.
You could find the hovercraft at equilibrium when it was at rest, when it was in the air but not moving, when it is at a constant velocity, and after the hovercraft was stopped completely. The acceleration of the hovercraft seems to depend on the mass of the student riding. The more mass, the harder to push.
The hovercraft was at a constant velocity after the student who pushed it let go and stopped accelerating the hovercraft.
This was a fun way to learn about Newtons first law. Hovercrafts are fun!
I thought that the way way you described equilibrium was very clear. We both described the way a hovercraft is different from a regular vehicle similarly, however our introductions were much different in that you were more descriptie of the hovercraft and the activity, whereas I started explaining the sensation of riding one right away. I think you could have described net force a little better. Great job!
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