College Board
Vectors: A Curriculum Module for AP® Calculus BC
It is all in a matter of time. The model curriculum module uses parametric equations and vectors to solve problems dealing with particle motion along a curve. At the beginning of the lesson, the unit reviews parametric equations and...
Concord Consortium
Keeping Pace
What came first, pedestrian one or pedestrian two? Scholars consider a problem scenario in which two people walk at different rates at different times. They must decide who reaches a checkpoint first. Their answers are likely to surprise...
Concord Consortium
The Bus Route
Patterns are extremely helpful when solving a puzzle. Young scholars attempt to find times a bus will pass each stop. They identify a pattern in the known stop times to identify the solutions.
Concord Consortium
Cheetah's Lunch
Run like a cheetah. A performance task challenges pupils to solve several different problems involving the speed of a cheetah. Given information for scenarios where the cheetah chases its prey, they determine if the big cat is fast enough.
Concord Consortium
Spinning an Old Record
Take a trip back in time to examine angular velocity. Using the revolutions per minute, learners calculate the speed of a point on a 33 record. They compare the speed of a point on the edge of the record to the speed of a point closer to...
Physics Classroom
Law Enforcement - Hit-and-Stick Collisions
How do police determine the speed of a car that has hit a stopped vehicle? Scholars determine the momentum of the car system both before and after a collision. They identify instances where the law of conservation of momentum appears to...
Physics Classroom
Case Studies: Impulse and Force
Why are gym walls padded and cars required to have air bags? Scholars observe two similar situations, such as those listed above, with only one variable altered. They identify the different variable and determine how the variation...
Physics Classroom
Law Enforcement - Explosions
How do law enforcement officers determine the strength of an explosion based on the movement of objects around the point of origin? Scholars inspect the relative mass and velocities of two cars before and after an explosion. They perform...
Physics Classroom
Balanced vs. Unbalanced Forces
Scientists use many different kinematic representations of motion. Review each of them with the help of an engaging interactive that is part of a larger series on Newton's laws of motion. The resource provides three levels of challenge...
Physics Classroom
Dots and Graphs
Scholars demonstrate understanding of kinematic graphs through matching dot graphs to position time graphs, dot graphs to velocity graphs, and a mixture of the two. If users feel stuck or confused, a Help Me! button offers an explanation...
Physics Classroom
Position-Time Graphs
Three sections review the key skills covered in a series on dimensional kinematics. The first covers the difference between distance and displacement. The second addresses the relationship between velocity and slope. The third includes...
Physics Classroom
Position-Time Graphs - Conceptual Analysis
Increasingly, colleges and employers want applicants with strong conceptual analysis skills, so give them some practice! Applying these skills to position-time graphs encourages synthesis of knowledge. To complete an installment of a...
Physics Classroom
Match That Graph
Matchy-matchy no longer exclusively applies to fashion. Scholars work through three levels of practice matching position and velocity graphs. Part of a series covering dimensional kinematics, each question provides immediate feedback and...
Physics Classroom
Graph That Motion
Pupils apply their knowledge of the shape and slope of graphs to interpret the motion of an object. Three levels of difficulty provide plenty of practice with support thanks to the "Help Me!" button offered with each question.
Physics Classroom
Motion Diagrams
Scholars work through three activities building motion diagrams as part of a series exploring dimensional kinematics. Each activity has six descriptions requiring application of velocity vectors, acceleration vectors, and challenge...
Physics Classroom
Acceleration
The acceleration rate of a flea jumping works out to 50 times faster than the acceleration rate of the space shuttle. Pupils apply knowledge of acceleration to dot diagrams, velocity-time tables, and word problems. They solve for...
Physics Classroom
Trajectory - Angle Launched Projectiles
Horizontal and vertical speeds change as projectiles move through space. As part of a series on vectors and projectiles, scholars create vector diagrams to compare these speeds at various locations. They they determine the values for...
Physics Classroom
Up And Down
Many scholars confuse velocity and acceleration even after they correctly solve basic problems. Using an interactive, part of a series on vectors and projectiles, with immediate feedback focuses their attention on the up or down...
Physics Classroom
Trajectory - Horizontally Launched Projectiles
Everyone enjoys projectiles, and predicting where they land helps with future hands-on labs. Incorporating gravity into horizontal trajectories through both conceptual and mathematical practice helps scholars understand real-life...
Physics Classroom
Free Fall
Scholars must understand freefall before they learn how objects like airplanes fly. They apply knowledge of velocity and acceleration to predict speed and direction as part of a larger series on vectors and projectiles.
Kenan Fellows
Analyzing Speed from Different Modalities
Show us your moves. Using sensor equipment, scholars track the motion of different movements, such as jogging, skipping, or jump roping. They analyze velocity and acceleration and create graphs representing each movement.
101 Questions
Taco Cart
Sometimes you just need a taco. Young mathematicians investigate two different paths on a beach to get to a taco cart. Completion of the task requires finding distances using the Pythagorean Theorem and considering the different walking...
Kenan Fellows
Man vs. Beast: Approximating Derivatives using Human and Animal Movement
What does dropping a ball look like as a graph? An engaging activity asks learners to record a video of dropping a ball and uploading the video to software for analysis. They compare the position of the ball to time and calculate the...
101 Questions
Stopping Distances
In 2016, one in every four fatal car crashes listed speeding as a contributing factor. Pupils view videos of a car trying to come to a quick stop from four different rates of speed. They use context clues to measure and determine the...