Forces and Newton's Laws
Big Ideas 1,2,3,4
Learning Objectives: 1.C.1.1, 1.C.1.3, 2.B.1.1, 3.A.2.1, 3.A.3.1, 3.A.3.2, 3.A.3.3, 3.A.4.1, 3.A.4.2, 3.A.4.3, 3.B.1.1, 3.B.1.2, 3.B.1.3, 3.B.2.1, 3.C.4.1, 3.C.4.2, 4.A.1.1, 4.A.2.1, 4.A.2.2, 4.A.2.3, 4.A.3.1, 4.A.3.2
Upon completion of this unit, you should be able to:
Essential Questions
Lab Activities
Learning Objectives: 1.C.1.1, 1.C.1.3, 2.B.1.1, 3.A.2.1, 3.A.3.1, 3.A.3.2, 3.A.3.3, 3.A.4.1, 3.A.4.2, 3.A.4.3, 3.B.1.1, 3.B.1.2, 3.B.1.3, 3.B.2.1, 3.C.4.1, 3.C.4.2, 4.A.1.1, 4.A.2.1, 4.A.2.2, 4.A.2.3, 4.A.3.1, 4.A.3.2
Upon completion of this unit, you should be able to:
- relate force and motion and explain what is meant by a net or unbalanced force.
- state and explain Newton's first law of motion and describe inertia and its relationship to mass.
- state and explain Newton's second law of motion, apply it to physical situations, and distinguish between weight and mass.
- state and explain Newton's third law of motion and identify action‐reaction force pairs.
- apply Newton's second law in analyzing various situations, use free‐body diagrams, and understand the concept of translational equilibrium.
- explain the causes of friction and how friction is described by using coefficients of friction.
Essential Questions
- How can you utilize Newton’s laws of motion to predict the behavior of objects?
- Do action-reaction force pairs (Newton’s third law) have a cause-and-effect relationship? Why or why not?
- How can free-body diagrams be utilized in the analysis of physical interactions between objects?
- Why can’t an object exert a force on itself?
Lab Activities
- Vector Addition. Using aeronautical maps students will draw and add displacement vectors graphically. They will then verify their results by finding and adding the components of those vectors.
- Force Table – How do three forces in equilibrium add up to nothing? Students will use the force table to measure three forces in equilibrium. Students will show that the vector sum of these forces is zero, and that the sum of any two is equal and opposite to the third.
- Newton’s Second Law – As part of an Atwood’s machine, a cart’s motion across the lab table will be measured. As mass is moved from the cart to the hanging mass, The increased acceleration of the cart should be proportional to the increasing force.
- Simulation Exercises-- Working in pairs, students make predictions and/or perform calculations based on scenarios presented in the simulations. They then run the simulations to check their answers. For “Forces in 1 Dimension,” students choose the settings for a scenario in which a force is applied to an object. They draw a free-body diagram of the forces acting on the object and predict the corresponding position, velocity, and acceleration graphs. They then check their predictions using the simulation. For “Ramp: Forces and Motion,” students choose the settings for a scenario involving an object on an incline. They calculate the net force on the object and use the simulation to check their calculation
Circular Motion and Gravitation
Big Ideas 1, 2, 3, 4
Learning Objectives: 1.C.3.1, 2.B.1.1, 2.B.2.1, 2.B.2.2, 3.A.3.1, 3.A.3.3, 3.B.1.2, 3.B.1.3, 3.B.2.1, 3.C.1.1, 3.C.1.2, 3.C.2.1, 3.C.2.2, 3.G.1.1, 4.A.2.2
Upon completion of this unit, you should be able to:
Essential Questions
Lab Activities:
Learning Objectives: 1.C.3.1, 2.B.1.1, 2.B.2.1, 2.B.2.2, 3.A.3.1, 3.A.3.3, 3.B.1.2, 3.B.1.3, 3.B.2.1, 3.C.1.1, 3.C.1.2, 3.C.2.1, 3.C.2.2, 3.G.1.1, 4.A.2.2
Upon completion of this unit, you should be able to:
- define units of angular measure and show how angular measure is related to circular arc length.
- describe and compute angular speed and velocity and explain their relationship to tangential speed.
- explain why there is a centripetal acceleration in constant or uniform circular motion and compute centripetal acceleration.
- define angular acceleration and analyze rotational kinematics.
- describe Newton's law of gravitation and how it relates to the acceleration due to gravity and investigate how the law applies to gravitational potential energy.
- state and explain Kepler's laws of planetary motion and describe the orbits and motions of satellites.
- distinguish between pure translational and pure rotational motions of a rigid body and state the condition(s) for rolling without slipping.
- define torque, apply the conditions for mechanical equilibrium, and describe the relationship between the location of the center of gravity and stability.
- describe the moment of inertia of a rigid body and apply the rotational form of Newton's second law to physical situations.
- discuss, explain, and use the rotational forms of work, kinetic energy, and power.
- define angular momentum and apply the conservation of angular momentum to physical situations.
Essential Questions
- Why do you stay in your seat on a roller coaster when it goes upside down in a vertical loop?
- How is the motion of a falling apple similar to that of the moon in orbit around the Earth?
- What conditions are necessary for a planet to obtain a circular orbit around its host star?
- How can Newton’s second law of motion be related to the universal law of gravitation?
- How can the motion of the center of mass of a system be altered?
Lab Activities:
- Centripetal Force Lab – Students will measure centripetal force by whirling a stopper on string in a circle at a constant speed. The centripetal force is provided by washers hanging on the other end of the string. By knowing the weight of the washers, students will know the magnitude of the tension in the string.
- Pendulum Lab – Students will use the periodic motion of a pendulum to measure the acceleration due to gravity.