EXPLAINING RELATIVE MOTION
Editor’s Note: This letter by Olivia F. (’20) balances creativity and scientific knowledge to explain relative motion through realistic experiences, like flying on a plane.
Role: Airplane passenger seated by a window looking at another plane in the adjacent gate.
Audience: Person who has never flown on an airplane before.
Audience: Person who has never flown on an airplane before.
Dear Julia,
Hi! I’m Sally. I’m on an airplane right now. Unfortunately, the plane is taking off from gate 13 the most unlucky number in the world. I’m sitting in a big chair that feels worn in like a seat on a school bus. It smells like gasoline and mashed potatoes, which is also unlucky because I hate potatoes. The man sitting next to me has a really bad cold and is coughing up a storm so there goes my chance of getting any sleep (Unlucky)... But luckily I have a window seat, I’m looking out the window, we are getting ready to take off, there is a plane in the gate next door (gate 14 my lucky number!), we start to move, they do too, but I can’t tell why we’re moving backwards, but then I think we are both just moving forward, it’s supposed to make sense but it just gets me way more confused. We take off, the pressure builds up, and it is the worst part of being on an airplane. I’m pulling down my shade, in hopes of getting a little shut eye, when the flight attendants start to bring around drinks. I must have fallen asleep, because when I woke up the lights were out (that means its communal sleeping time), 3 hours down 5 more to go, then I’ll be in good old England.
This is Joe, I work for airlines but not on the plane, I have a job some people might call scary, I have to lead the extremely large plane through the gate to take off or to land. When you are on a plane landing it feels like you are going super slow, because you are moving with it. But when you’re slowly moving on the ground guiding the plane it looks like it going really fast and if it doesn't turn faster it is going to run you over! But once I got used to it I really started to like it, and without me the planes just wouldn’t run!
Hi, I’m Charles. I’m on the plane taking off from gate 14. We are taking off, I’m looking at the plane next to us and I thought we were moving backwards, I have to shut my shade because it makes me nauseous. When I wake up again, 2 1/2 hours later I look out the window, it’s dark but I can see a big cloud up ahead, when we get to it, and go through it, I feel like we stopped moving, I got scared but in a few minutes we were out and I realized it didn’t look like we were moving because there was nothing to look at, like a cloud to see that we were moving. I got tired from all this thinking and shut my, for another nap.
I hoped you enjoyed my letter, I already miss you, can’t wait to see you when I get back to the city!
OXOXO,
Olivia
Hi! I’m Sally. I’m on an airplane right now. Unfortunately, the plane is taking off from gate 13 the most unlucky number in the world. I’m sitting in a big chair that feels worn in like a seat on a school bus. It smells like gasoline and mashed potatoes, which is also unlucky because I hate potatoes. The man sitting next to me has a really bad cold and is coughing up a storm so there goes my chance of getting any sleep (Unlucky)... But luckily I have a window seat, I’m looking out the window, we are getting ready to take off, there is a plane in the gate next door (gate 14 my lucky number!), we start to move, they do too, but I can’t tell why we’re moving backwards, but then I think we are both just moving forward, it’s supposed to make sense but it just gets me way more confused. We take off, the pressure builds up, and it is the worst part of being on an airplane. I’m pulling down my shade, in hopes of getting a little shut eye, when the flight attendants start to bring around drinks. I must have fallen asleep, because when I woke up the lights were out (that means its communal sleeping time), 3 hours down 5 more to go, then I’ll be in good old England.
This is Joe, I work for airlines but not on the plane, I have a job some people might call scary, I have to lead the extremely large plane through the gate to take off or to land. When you are on a plane landing it feels like you are going super slow, because you are moving with it. But when you’re slowly moving on the ground guiding the plane it looks like it going really fast and if it doesn't turn faster it is going to run you over! But once I got used to it I really started to like it, and without me the planes just wouldn’t run!
Hi, I’m Charles. I’m on the plane taking off from gate 14. We are taking off, I’m looking at the plane next to us and I thought we were moving backwards, I have to shut my shade because it makes me nauseous. When I wake up again, 2 1/2 hours later I look out the window, it’s dark but I can see a big cloud up ahead, when we get to it, and go through it, I feel like we stopped moving, I got scared but in a few minutes we were out and I realized it didn’t look like we were moving because there was nothing to look at, like a cloud to see that we were moving. I got tired from all this thinking and shut my, for another nap.
I hoped you enjoyed my letter, I already miss you, can’t wait to see you when I get back to the city!
OXOXO,
Olivia
