Archive for November 2008
Finding the Normal Force on an Incline
Posted by: Scott on: November 30, 2008
When we discuss normal forces, I drum into the students’ heads that the force is perpendicular to the surface. They get that eventually. Where they get into trouble is on an incline when the angled component of the weight of an object F(i)=mg*cos(Θ). I called this force F(i) meaning the force exerted on the incline [...]
Looking for Your Opinion
Posted by: Scott on: November 20, 2008
My 12th grade Physical Science class has been restructured. Basically, about half of my students had Physical Science in 9th grade at other schools and they all had Chemistry last year. While it’s still Physical Science, we are spending a great deal of time on astronomy and the basic physics they need to understand the [...]
Projectile Motion Lab
Posted by: Scott on: November 15, 2008
This is a favorite of mine. After you’ve spend nearly two weeks trying to get students to understand the basics of projectile motion, it’s time to go hands-on. Students get a Nerf gun, a meter stick, a level, and a long metric tape measure. They launch several darts horizontally from 1 meter in height and [...]
How I Teach Projectile Motion
Posted by: Scott on: November 15, 2008
For some reason, I find the books totally inadequate on this section. I also don’t like their method of teaching it. Our book has one small section and a few problems, but not enough for the kids to see the pattern and understand what’s happening. I break projectiles into three main parts. Part 1 – [...]
Starting off the Year with a Measurement Lab
Posted by: Scott on: November 14, 2008
Perhaps I expect too much. I think I am going to create a new lab that is just about measuring stuff correctly and accurately. I had my own tools from when I was big enough to walk, so I take for granted that everybody knows how to read a tape measure or meter stick. Apparently [...]
Java Applet for Velocity & Acceleration
Posted by: Scott on: November 2, 2008
http://www.walter-fendt.de/ph14e/acceleration.htm This is an interactive applet that allows the student or teacher to change the velocity and acceleration of a car. There is a graphical representation of the car and the velocity vector as it moves across the top of the screen. On the bottom are three graphs that show the distance v time, the [...]
Review Site for Students
Posted by: Scott on: November 2, 2008
I found this teacher’s site because one of my students plagarized it for his lab report. Not only was it clearly not his writing, but he just did a cut and paste and didn’t notice that some of it didn’t even pertain to our lab. So, yeah, he got caught. The site is http://www.glenbrook.k12.il.us/gbssci/phys/Class/1DKin/U1L5b.html The [...]
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