Uniform Acceleration Redesign
Grade 11 AP Physics B
Focus Statement
Statement
I plan on redesigning a current unit I already teach, Mechanics. This unit introduces students to the two fundamental questions regarding Physics: 1. How do things move? i. This question will introduce students to the works and experiments of Galileo Galilei. 2. Why do things move? i. This question will introduce students to the works and experiments of Sir Isaac Newton.
Analysis
The reason I chose this unit to redesign is because this unit provides the foundation for understanding the two types of motion according to physics. The potential for hands-on learning through the use of experiments, projects, and application is significantly higher and the margin for error is significantly less than other units. Overall, this is the perfect lab rat to test my STEM redesign.
Grade Level, Audience, & Background
The primary grade level focus of this redesign is the AP Physics B classroom that is taught to juniors. All of whom received a B or better in both Honors Chemistry and Honors Algebra 2 the year before and also obtained teacher recommendations from both of those teachers. Up until this unit, students have already mastered skills that focus on: Interpreting motion diagrams Creating and analyzing motion graphs (d-t, v-t and a-t) Deriving and applying Galileos equations for uniform acceleration Vector resolution
Mastery of these skills will benefit them when they take data on a uniformly accelerating object, plot its d-t and a-t graphs and ultimately use slopes and areas from those graphs to identify relationships between Force, Mass and Acceleration. The experiment can be altered to change one of two variables: The driving force in the experiment can be altered while the mass of the car remains constant
The mass can be altered while the driving force remains constant.
Learning Objectives
1. Students will be able to analyze and explain situations of static equilibrium. 2. Students will be able to understand the relationship between force and acceleration: a. Calculate the velocity change on a mass when given the net force. b. Find the net force in a free body diagram. 3. Students will be able to determine either the acceleration, net force, mass, or frictional force in a one-dimensional situation with both unbalanced and balanced free body diagrams. 4. Students will be able to apply accelerating/equilibrium concepts to Attwoods/Elevators & Inclines; both with and without the Frictional Force. 5. Students will be able to create an experimental procedure that includes data measurement and analysis.
Materials
The following materials will be used for this series of projects. 1. 2. 3. 4. Masses (100 -1000 g in 100-g increments) 500 g cart with string, pulley, and track Spark timer and spark tape Meter stick
Instructional Strategies
1. This series of projects will start after our unit on Kinematics. Students will already have mastered the interrelationships between displacement, velocity and acceleration both on motion dot diagrams and motion graphs. In groups of 3, students will receive the project objectives: a. Create an experimental procedure, or procedures, to find the relationships between Force, Mass and Acceleration. b. Support your procedure by building and conducting the experiment, take data and measurements, and support your hypotheses with results and calculations. 2. Next, using the class set of chrome books, each group of students will read up on the topic here: a. Force and Its Representation b. Newtons Second Law of Motion 3. After reading up on the topic, students will begin to brainstorm the variables they need.
4. From there, students will then identify how they can either measure or calculate for those variables using the equipment provided.
5. After these two key outcomes are identified, students will begin the construction of their experiment. a. Creating data charts b. Developing procedural statements c. Identifying what measurements to take and how d. Outlining the analysis portion 6. Students perform their experiment. Following their procedure and taking the measurements they outlined. Using their analysis, create an argument that is supported by data that identifies the goal of the experiment => identify the relationships between force, mass and acceleration. 7. Students produce a lab write up on their Chrome book with inserted photos/videos of the experimental setup they designed and performed. 8. When the students have created their final report, they will submit it to the class drop box on Google Docs. 9. Students will then incline their track and begin the process over again for the inclined plane in consolidated groups (two groups of 3 combine into 1 group of 6). a. Inclined Plane reading
Research to Support Learning Objectives
My district has recently adopted the Next Generation Science Standards into the curriculum. Based heavily on hands-on, interactive learning that focuses on the development of student artifacts, the NGSS is a powerful implementation of STEM education. Since I am currently adjusting and modifying my curriculum and laboratory investigations to align with these standards, I am inherently incorporating more STEM based opportunities for learning and synthesizing information in my classroom. Below is NGSS HS-PS2-1, which directly applies to my lesson outlined above. Not only have I focused on incorporating and achieving this standard, I have also focused this entire lab experiment/experience on the Science and Engineering Best Practices and the Crosscutting Concepts that the NGSS focuses on; all of which are attached below with links.
According to the article Conceptual Shifts in the Next Generation Science Standards, the author makes it clear that The vision represented in the Framework is new in that students must be engaged at the nexus of the three dimensions: 1. Science and Engineering Practice, 2. Crosscutting Concepts, and 3. Disciplinary Core Ideas. (p.1) Given that science cannot be taught in a vacuum, not many districts and classrooms incorporate all three of these initiatives concurrently, making it difficult for students to make connections. From the article, A Framework for K-12 Science Education: Practices, Crosscutting Concepts, and core Ideas, the author(s) make it clear thatlearning about science and engineering involves integration of the knowledge of scientific explanations (i.e., content knowledge) and the practices needed to engage in scientific inquiry and engineering design. Thus the framework seeks to illustrate how knowledge and practice must be intertwined in designing learning experiences in K12 science education. (p.11) This idea again resonates with the redesign of my lesson above. Focusing on multiple skills, including but not limited to, teamwork, problem solving, inquiry, experimental design, gathering o f measurements, data analysis, conflict resolution and modeling, my lesson seeks to reinforce the ideologies and goals of the NGSS.
Next Generation Science Standard
[Link] HS-PS2-1 Analyze data to support the claim that Newtons second law of motion describes the mathematical relationship among the net force on a macroscopic object, its mass, and its acceleration. [Clarification Statement: Examples of data could include tables or graphs of position or velocity as a function of time for objects subject to a net unbalanced force, such as a falling object, an object rolling down a ramp, or a moving object being pulled by a constant force.] [Assessment Boundary: Assessment is limited to one-dimensional motion and to macroscopic objects moving at non-relativistic speeds.]
Science and Engineering Best Practices
Planning and Carrying Out Investigations Planning and carrying out investigations to answer questions or test solutions to problems in 9 12 builds on K8 experiences and progresses to include investigations that provide evidence for and test conceptual, mathematical, physical and empirical models. Plan and conduct an investigation individually and collaboratively to produce data to serve as the basis for evidence, and in the design: decide on types, how much, and accuracy of data needed to produce reliable measurements and consider limitations on the precision of the data (e.g., number of trials, cost, risk, time), and refine the design accordingly. (HS-PS2-5)
Analyzing and Interpreting Data Analyzing data in 912 builds on K8 and progresses to introducing more detailed statistical analysis, the comparison of data sets for consistency, and the use of models to generate and analyze data. Analyze data using tools, technologies, and/or models (e.g., computational, mathematical) in order to make valid and reliable scientific claims or determine an optimal design solution. (HS-PS2-1) Using Mathematics and Computational Thinking Mathematical and computational thinking at the 912 level builds on K8 and progresses to using algebraic thinking and analysis, a range of linear and nonlinear functions including trigonometric functions, exponentials and logarithms, and computational tools for statistical analysis to analyze, represent, and model data. Simple computational simulations are created and used based on mathematical models of basic assumptions. Use mathematical representations of phenomena to describe explanations. (HS-PS22),(HS-PS2-4) Constructing Explanations and Designing Solutions Constructing explanations and designing solutions in 912 builds on K8 experiences and progresses to explanations and designs that are supported by multiple and independent student-generated sources of evidence consistent with scientific ideas, principles, and theories. Apply scientific ideas to solve a design problem, taking into account possible unanticipated effects. (HS-PS2-3) Obtaining, Evaluating, and Communicating Information Obtaining, evaluating, and communicating information in 912 builds on K8 and progresses to evaluating the validity and reliability of the claims, methods, and designs. Communicate scientific and technical information (e.g. about the process of development and the design and performance of a proposed process or system) in multiple formats (including orally, graphically, textually, and mathematically). (HS-PS2-6)
Crosscutting Concepts
Patterns Different patterns may be observed at each of the scales at which a system is studied and can provide evidence for causality in explanations of phenomena. (HS-PS2-4) Cause and Effect Empirical evidence is required to differentiate between cause and correlation and make claims about specific causes and effects. (HS-PS2-1),(HS-PS2-5) Systems can be designed to cause a desired effect. (HS-PS2-3) Systems and System Models When investigating or describing a system, the boundaries and initial conditions of the system need to be defined. (HS-PS2-2) Structure and Function Investigating or designing new systems or structures requires a detailed examination of the properties of different materials, the structures of different components, and connections of components to reveal its function and/or solve a problem. (HS-PS2-6)