Speaker
Description
Beginning in 2025, the college board made fluids the final topic in the algebra based advanced physics 1 course. The final relationship in this final unit is Torricelli’s law for the velocity of a fluid emerging from a hole in the side of tank. It is, therefore tempting, to design a capstone lab for the course based on Torricelli’s law. It turns out that this lab is fraught with difficulty because Torricelli’s law relies on Bernoulli’s statement of the conservation of energy density in a frictionless (non-dissipative) fluid. But flowing water is always viscous (dissipative). We propose a structure for the lab that, we believe, makes it into an excellent capstone experience tying together much of the course. The lab includes strong lessons on science practices, adds a bit of history, and illustrates the richness of physics available to students who continue studying physics after their AP1 introduction to the subject.
