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B.W.
Physics 131
Fall Semester
Monday and Wednesday
Evenings
6:15-7:55 pm
Everyone Deserves a
Speeding Ticket
Harold Burris
Saint Agnes Academy
9000 Bellaire Blvd
Houston, TX 77036
TPT Volume 31, January 1993 page 31 and 32
Imagine
It is August 28, 2006.
You checked the clock.
Oh my! Its late, and if I don’t hurry
I will be late for school.
Physics begins at 6:15 and I want
to make a good impression.
You jump into your shoes.
Pick up your backpack.
Run out and jump into the car.
And away you go.
You look at your watch.
“I’m going to be late!”
Your foot gets heavier.
The accelerator goes down.
Your speed goes up.
And…
You guessed it,
The Berea fuzz is right behind.
What do you do?
Your at a “crossroad” in your life.
You can either stop or run.
Being the intelligent person
you are, you
do the intelligent thing and stop.
As you roll down your window
the police office informs you
that you were going 35 mi/hr
in a 25 mi/hr zone.
The fine: $10 for each mi/hr
over the speed limit.
This brings the fine to
$100.
You say, “I’ll be happy to pay the
fine, but hurry up, I don’t want to be
late for class.”
“But wait,” the police officer replies,
“I wish it were that simple.”
“You see, our city council just
recently passed a law that requires
us to fine you for being on planet
Earth as it rotates on its axis!”
“Here on planet Earth,
in the state of Ohio,
in the city of Berea,
on Bagley Road,
you are traveling at precisely 783 mi/hr
as you rotate with the earth on its axis.
That brings your fine to
$7,580
Again you say, “I’ll be happy to pay
the fine, but hurry up, I don’t want to
be late for class.”
“But wait,” the police officer replies,
“I wish it were that simple.”
“You see, our city council just
recently passed a law that requires
us to fine you for the fact that you
are on the Earth, which is
revolving in its orbit around the
Sun!”
“Here on planet Earth,
in the state of Ohio,
in the city of Berea,
on Bagley Road,
you are traveling at precisely 66,646
mi/hr as you revolve in orbit about the
sun.”
That brings your fine to
$666,210.
Again you say, “I’ll be happy to let
you have fifty percent of my salary
for the next 20 years, but just let me
get to class on time so I can
graduate and get a job to pay off this
crazy ticket.”
“But wait,” the police officer replies,
“I wish it were that simple.”
“You see, our city council just
recently passed a law that requires
us to fine you for the fact that the
entire Solar System is moving
toward the star Vega in the
constellation of Lyra!”
“Here on planet Earth,
in the state of Ohio,
in the city of Berea,
on Bagley Road,
you are traveling at precisely 44,041
mi/hr as you are traveling towards the
constellation Lyra!”
That brings your fine to
$440,410.
You are getting desperate. “Just let
me drive immediately to the police
station and begin work as a janitor in
order to pay the fine.”
“But wait,” the police officer replies,
“I wish it were that simple.”
“You see, our city council just
recently passed a law that requires
a fine for the fact that you are part
of the Milky Way galaxy, which is
rotating about its axis.”
“Here on planet Earth,
in the state of Ohio,
in the city of Berea,
on Bagley Road,
you are traveling at precisely
558,925 mi/hr as the Milky Way
galaxy rotates about its axis.
That brings your fine to
$5,589,000.
Your fines totals up to be:
$100
$7,580
$666,210
$440,410
$5,589,000
$6,703,300
As you awake from your
dream, you realize that you
are in class and ready to
experience of joy of learning
physics.
We will focus on:
“How Do I Know
Why Is It So”
As we explore
Conceptual Understanding
and
Problem Solving
in Physics
That’s all folks!