Hovercraft Lab

>> Riding a hovercraft feels different than any other thing I have ridden before. If anything, riding a sled is similar to the feeling, but you don't have to be on a slope in order to ride it. You move at a constant speed making it unlike ride a skateboard, car, bike, scooter, etc. If you have never ridden a hovercraft before, it is a little intimidating. The loud noise is somewhat off putting, but the ride is completely worth it. Make sure the people who are stopping you are reliable, because if they don't stop you, the next wall will.


>> The hovercraft was originally at rest, until an outside force (the two people pushing) made it move. Once it started moving, it had little resistance with the ground, allowing it to continue to move with little outside force slowing it down. While it was moving it was at an equilibrium, and while it was starting and stopping it had a net force because it had outside forces acting upon it. 

>> The acceleration depended on how hard the person was pushed.

>> Once the hovercraft reached an equilibrium, it had a constant velocity. 

>> Some members were harder to start and stop because they have a larger mass. A larger mass means that there is a larger number of total atoms that the outside force has to make move/stop. Thus, members of our class with a larger mass were harder to start and stop.