~by Landon Braun
On Monday, Oct. 6, students in the physics class at Greene County High School conducted an odd but entertaining lab. Students traveled up to the Mahanay Bell Tower in Jefferson and dropped objects from the tower through a window at the top, about 138 feet off the ground.
As odd as this experiment may have seemed to bystanders, it served a purpose to the students. Students in this class calculated terminal velocity, average velocity and compared it to known standards calculated by other famous scientists. Items dropped from the bell tower included apples, water balloons, an empty Rice Krispy box, a wide variety of balls, and many other objects that students found appealing, including a Barbie doll.
Pat Richards (pictured front, left) hosted the students at the bell tower. Members of the class include (front, continuing)teacher Launa Buxton, Emma Saddoris, Faith Hanson, Landon Braun, John Mobley, Colton Fitzpatrick, Eme Johnson and Robin Consier; and (back, from left) Garion Consier, Jake Carey, Bailey Godwin, Stacy Mears, Dan Neal, Dylan Hamilton, Jordan Challen, Kayla Youngblood and Cody Burkett.
As a student in this class, I found this experiment very interesting. Not only was it fun to do a creative experiment that pertained to school, but fascinating to see how friction acted on different objects. Everything we measured pertained to what we are learning in physics class. My favorite object to drop was the empty Rice Krispy box. It had little mass and the wind carried it many feet. It seemed to float in the air. We also dropped a water bottle. It exploded on impact with the ground. This experiment was a fun way to get out of the classroom and explore how physics applies to everyday objects.
