Introduction Physics is used in everyday life, even when you don’t think it is being used. If we have a better understanding of how physics works, then we can be more efficient in our everyday lives. Physics helps us solve problems and helps us understand the little things we do each day. Some examples of how physics is used can be either man-made or naturally occurring ways. There are many daily activities that we do that involve some sort of physical activity. Some examples of everyday use of physics in my life is driving a car, running, completing laundry, using the flush of a toilet, using a headrest in a car and breathing. All of these examples can be understood by looking further into the laws of physics. Having a deep understanding of …show more content…
Driving a car The first activity that involves many laws of physics in my everyday life is driving a car. The forces acting on my car while driving are gravity, inertia, potential energy, and kinetic energy. Using these forces and knowing how they work could make us all more knowledgeable and safer drivers. Gravity can affect the speed of the car whenever traveling up or down a hill because the gravitational force changes as the car moves towards or away from the earth’s center. When traveling downhill, the vehicle should speed up due to gravity. In order to not go too fast, brakes can be applied to help slow down the car. The law of inertia states that an object in motion will tend to stay in motion and an object at rest will tend to stay at rest, unless acted upon an outside force. This is what keeps the car moving in a straight line while driving on a straight road without having to forcefully steer the car in a certain direction. The force used to stop a car while driving is the brake mechanism of the car. When the car is in park, it has potential energy because it is stationary. The potential energy from the car is converted to kinetic energy when it is in moving motion. The car must be converted back into potential energy whenever the car needs to stop. When slowing down and then pushing the brakes, the kinetic energy is absorbed by the brakes during a