UNDER CONSTRUCTION
Unit 1 – Kinematics
Goal: The world is made up of objects that are in a constant state of motion. To understand the relationships between objects, students must first understand movement. Unit 1 introduces students to the study of motion and serves as a foundation for all of AP Physics 1 by exploring the idea of acceleration and showing students how representations can be used to model and analyze scientific information as it relates to the motion of objects.
Topic 1.1 Scalars and Vectors in One Dimension
Learning Objective:
-Describe a scalar or vector quantity using magnitude and direction, as appropriate.
Essential Knowledge:
-Scalars are quantities described by magnitude only; vectors are quantities described by both magnitude and direction.
-Vectors can be visually modeled as arrows with appropriate direction and lengths proportional to their magnitude.
-Distance and speed are examples of scalar quantities, while position, displacement, velocity, and acceleration are examples of vector quantities.
-Vectors are notated with an arrow above the symbol for that quantity.
-Vector notation is not required for vector components along an axis. In one dimension, the sign of the component completely describes the direction of that component.
Skills:
-Create diagrams, tables, charts, or schematics to represent physical situations.
-Compare physical quantities between two or more scenarios or at different times and locations in a single scenario.
-Apply an appropriate law, definition, theoretical relationship, or model to make a claim.
-Justify or support a claim using evidence from experimental data, physical representations, or physical principles or laws.
Read Sections: 1.1, 1.3, 1.5, 1.7, 1.8, 1.9, 1.10, 1.11
WebAssign: CH1 - 1, 6, 20, 23, 25, 26, 39, 40, 46, 47, 49, 52, 53, 54, 56, 61, 62, 70, 71
Topic 1.2 & 1.3 - Displacement, Velocity, and Acceleration & Representing Motion
Learning Objectives:
-Describe a change in an object’s position.
-Describe the velocity and acceleration of an object.
-Describe the position, velocity, and acceleration of an object using representations of that object’s motion.
Essential Knowledge:
-When using the object model, the size, shape, and internal configuration are ignored. The object may be treated as a single point with extensive properties such as mass and charge.
-Displacement is the change in an object’s position.
-Describe the average velocity and acceleration of an object.
-Averages of velocity and acceleration are calculated considering the initial and final states of an object over an interval of time.
-Average velocity is the displacement of an object divided by the interval of time in which that displacement occurs.
-Average acceleration is the change in velocity divided by the interval of time in which that change in velocity occurs.
-An object is accelerating if the magnitude and/or direction of the object’s velocity are changing.
-Calculating average velocity or average acceleration over a very small time-interval yields a value that is very close to the instantaneous velocity or instantaneous acceleration.
-Motion can be represented by motion diagrams, figures, graphs, equations, and narrative descriptions.
-For constant acceleration, three kinematic equations can be used to describe instantaneous linear motion in one dimension.
-Near the surface of Earth, the vertical acceleration caused by the force of gravity is downward, constant, and has a measured value approximately equal to ag = g = 10m/s2.
-Graphs of position, velocity, and acceleration as functions of time can be used to find the relationships between those quantities.
-An object’s instantaneous velocity is the rate of change of the object’s position, which is equal to the slope of a line tangent to a point on a graph of the object’s position as a function of time.
-An object’s instantaneous acceleration is the rate of change of the object’s velocity, which is equal to the slope of a line tangent to a point on a graph of the object’s velocity as a function of time.
-The displacement of an object during a time interval is equal to the area under the curve of a graph of the object’s velocity as a function of time (i.e., the area bounded by the function and the horizontal axis for the appropriate interval).
-The change in velocity of an object during a time interval is equal to the area under the curve of a graph of the acceleration of the object as a function of time.
Skills:
-Create qualitative sketches of graphs that represent features of a model or the behavior of a physical system.
-Calculate or estimate an unknown quantity with units from known quantities, by selecting and following a logical computational pathway.
-Derive a symbolic expression from known quantities by selecting and following a logical mathematical pathway.
-Compare physical quantities between two or more scenarios or at different times and locations in a single scenario.
-Apply an appropriate law, definition, theoretical relationship, or model to make a claim.
-Justify or support a claim using evidence from experimental data, physical representations, or physical principles or laws.
Read Sections: 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 2.4
WebAssign: Ch2 - 1, 6, 7, 9, 18, 19, 20, 22, 24, 27, 37, 51, 52, 58, 60, 65, 67
Ch2 AP Multiple-Choice Questions