Lecture 4 moves on from an overview of Newton’s Laws to review the definition of work and explore using trigonometry to find the work in the direction of displacement. The Lecture also focuses on the conservation of energy and the work-energy theorem, applications of the work-energy theorem, and gravitational potential energy to kinetic energy transfer.
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Learning Objectives
Reinforce knowledge of 1D and 2D motion, vectors, and Newton’s Laws
Continue building problem-solving strategies
Learn major topics related to Work and Energy (below)
Continue practicing note-taking for STEM courses
Major Topics
Definition of work
Example of work in 1D along the x-axis with a 2D force (using cosine)
SI units of work and energy
Work-energy theorem and conservation of energy
Kinetic energy
Finding mass, velocity, distance, etc. using work and kinetic energy
Gravitational potential energy
Transferring gravitational potential energy to kinetic energy
Escape 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 and Newton’s Laws in the third lecture. 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, projectile motion, naming variables and subscripts, net force and free-body diagrams, systems and trigonometry, and Newton’s Universal Law of Gravitation. They will have had three 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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