Inquirer
The definition of an inquirer is someone develops a skill to develop their natural curiosity. This is showed many times in the common classroom because students are pushed to learn and reflect on a daily basis. This happens with tests, projects, and even studying. An inquirer has the goal of learning. They ask a question and search for answers, or methods of finding the answers.
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On the subject of searching for answers,this year I started my International Baccalaureate (IB) Physics Internal Assessment (IA). I was tasked with forming a research question to a physics related subject and form a project around it. What I came to work on was the motion of a singular pendulum. I spent months trying to prove Galileo Galilei's isochronism of a pendulum. The isochronism essential says that the period of a pendulum is will remain constant even if the starting angle of the pendulum is varied. I started from scratch. I built is pendulum out of a door frame and used a device called a photo gate to track the time of my pendulum. After months of hard work and 12 pages of reflection, I was able to prove this idea.
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As seen in the picture to the right, I put together an equation. I added Kinetic Energy to the Potential Energy of the pendulum and set it equal to the pendulums height (h). I came about this, because adding the two will give me the total energy of the mass. I’ve set it equal to the height so that I could see the direct relationship between it and the energy of the pendulums.
I then converted my height into angles. I’ve done this by using the trigonometric functions (SOH-CAH-TOA) to find the angle of my mass. Since I’ve already found the height of said mass at any given time, this was made much less complex than I would of initially thought. The 1.855m was the length of my string, h is the height of my mass from off of the ground, and theta was the angle between the string and its resting position.
As an inquirer, I found a question and formed a plan to answer it. I took the time to develop my own skills as well. I learned how to use code in Google sheets, and Microsoft excel. I also learned how to dedicate time to a cause. I’ve never done a project of this magnitude before, and it has proven to be very beneficial for me. I can use these skills in school and work.