Rick F Guyon - Measures of Central Tendency - Richard F Guyon

Measures of Central Tendency

It is often unnecessary to present the experimental data in their entirety, either in tabular or graphical form. In such cases, the data and distribution can be represented by various parameters. One type of parameter is a measure of central tendency, Mode, median, and mean are measures of central tendency.

The mode is the observed value that occurs most frequently. The mode may vary greatly between series of observations. Therefore, its main use is a quick measure of the central value since little or no computation is required to find it. Beyond this, the usefulness of the mode is limited.

The median is the point in the distribution that partitions the total set of observations into two parts containing equal numbers of observations. It is not influenced by the extremity of scores on either side of the distribution. The median is found by counting up (from either end of the frequency distribution) until half of the observations have been accounted for.

Similar in concept tot he median are percentiles (percentile ranks) quartiles and deciles. The median could also have been called the 50th percentile observation. Similarly, the 50th percentile would be the observed value for which the cumulative frequency was 80%. The quartile and decile points on the distribution divide the observations or distribution into segments off 25% and 10%, respectively.

Rick F Guyon - Differential Equations - Convolution Integral - Richard F Guyon

Rick F Guyon - A complex Laplace transform, F(s), will often be recognized as the product of two other transforms, F1(s) and F2(s), whose corresponding functions fi(f) and f2(t) are known. Unfortunately, Laplace transforms cannot be computed with ordinary multiplication. However, it is possible to extract f(t) from the convolution, as calculated from either of the convolution integrals.

Rick F Guyon - Convolution Integral - Richard F Guyon 

Rick F Guyon - Speed Degredation on Uphill Grades - Richard F Guyon

Rick F Guyon - Most modern passenger cars traveling on highways are capable of negotiation uphill grades of 4 to 5% without speed decreases blow their initial level-highway sppeds. (Older cars with high mass-to-power ratios and some smaller-sized "economy" vehicles may experience speed decreases.)

Heavy trucks experience greater speed degradation than passenger cars. The primary variables affecting actual speed decreases are the grade steepness, the grade length,  and the truck's mass-to-power ration. Mass to power ratios are commonly stated in pounds per horsepower and kilograms per kilowatt.

Rick F Guyon - Coefficient of Friction - Richard F Guyon

Rick F Guyon  - In most cases, a vehicle's braking system is able to provide more braking force than can be transmitted to the pavement. Therefore, the maximum deceleration is limited by the coefficient of friction between the tires and pavement.

The coefficient of friction, f, between a vehicle and the supporting roadway is the frictional force divided by the normal force. The normal force is essentially the total weight of the vehicle, w , on all but the most extreme grades. The coefficient of friction is dependent on the condition of the vehicle's tires, the type and condition of the pavement, and the weather conditions. 

There are two coefficients of friction: static and dynamic(kinetic). The coefficients of friction may also be referred to as coefficients of road adhesion. The coefficients of static friction is larger than the coefficient of dynamic friction. While a vehicle's tires are rotating, the relative velocity between a point of contact on the tire and roadway are zero and the coefficient of static friction controls. 

Once a vehicle enters a skid, however the coefficient of dynamic friction controls. Therefore a vehicle is held to its maximum braking deceleration without entering a skid will take less distance to come to a complete stop than if the vehicle locks up its tires and skids to a stop. 

The coefficient of friction is not constant throughout the braking manuever, but varies inversely with speed. This level of sophistication is not normally considered, and an average value that is representative of the speed and conditions are used.

Rick F Guyon - You Need to Travel! - Richard F Guyon

It's crazy when you read about the stats of Americans who have never travelled outside of their county....let alone outside of their state...let alone out of the country. It's absolutely absurd. EVERYONE NEEDS TO TRAVEL.

Ok...why is travel so important?

• The only thing you take with you are memories....material things means absolutely nothing.

• You gain a different look on things. When you live in your little small town only knowing a one group or a specific group of people your view on things that are outside of that circle are very narrow minded. Traveling the world and learning about other cultures, learning new languages and seeing new things is how we learn.

When a baby is still new he/she puts everything in his mouth. He wants to see everything, touch everything...this is how we learn. If you don't expand your mind and/or your horizons then what have you learned? What have you gained?