Having learned about what acceleration is, students now learn what causes it. Lecture 3 reviews Newton’s Laws and helps students build an intuition for their use by focusing on naming variables and subscripts, net force and free-body diagrams, systems and trigonometry, and Newton’s Universal Law of Gravitation.
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Learning Objectives
Reinforce knowledge of 1D and 2D motion and vectors
Continue building problem-solving strategies
Learn major topics related to Newton’s Laws (below)
Continue practicing note-taking for STEM courses
Major Topics
Newton’s first, second, and (briefly) third laws
Net force in 1D and 2D using basic trig for x and y components, r and θ vectors
Free-body diagram
Newton’s universal law of gravitation, the shell theorem (very basic, you can mention the center of mass), and calculate g on Earth
Mass versus weight
SI units of measure for force and mass
Normal force
Friction as a simple opposing force (qualitative definition)
Connect force to acceleration and velocity
Readings & Assignments
These are required readings and assignments that students work on the night before. The fellows support students' learning of the concepts covered in the readings and problems during Section and Problem Set work time.
Read Urone & Hinrichs, College Physics, pp. 13-14, 17, 32-34, 35-41, 49-56, 61-62
Work through Examples 2.8 (pp. 50-51) and 2.9 (p. 52)
What Students Know
Students will come to your lecture having learned about 1D and 2D motion in the first two lectures. Those classes focused on problem-solving strategies for STEM classes, unit conversion, 1D motion with constant acceleration, free-fall with gravitational acceleration, velocities in 2D, independence of motion, 1D versus 2D equations of motion, and projectile motion. They will have had two sessions with WSP fellows each afternoon. (1) “Section” sessions in which they reviewed the lecture concepts and then learned problem-solving strategies related to the material, and (2) PSET sessions in which they applied the problem-solving strategies individually and in groups with support from WSP fellows. They also will have been working in groups and with their Research Project Leader on their research projects.
Research Project
All participants engage in a week-long research project designed and run by a Research Project Leader at the host institution. These research projects encourage the direct application of the concepts learned in your lecture so students can learn how to use the concepts to solve “real-world” problems. These research projects culminate in a presentation on the Friday of the boot camp week. We encourage you to take the time to attend these presentations if you are able.
Your Role
Faculty provide a core service in our academic boot camps by ensuring that WSP participants experience a college-level course in a real-life setting. This experience helps to instill confidence and prompt motivation to pursue higher education. Your role is, ultimately, to be yourself; to share your expertise with participants and to run the class like you would with traditional college students. We highly encourage you to find ways to connect with participants and to share any advice you have for them as they transition from military service to higher education.
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