Speed Unit: Everything You Need to Introduce Speed and Velocity
I use this lab and powerpoint near the beginning of our unit on one dimensional motion. The lab is easy to complete, and my students really enjoy creating their rotocopters and timing them in free fall. The lab is great for reinforcing experimental variables as well – students get hands-on experience making sure they are testing only one variable at a time, so it’s a great follow up to the concepts of independent v. dependent variables as well as conditions to keep constant. I usually use at least one of the worksheets during the lab to make sure everyone stays busy during the lab; the other worksheet usually goes home with students for homework.
The set is a 34 slide powerpoint, a rotocopter lab and three different worksheets over the concept of speed. The powerpoint covers three different models of speed ( strobe photos, equations, and graphing ), sample word problems to solve for speed, distance, and time, a discussion of the differences between velocity and speed and the differences between average speed and instantaneous speed. At the end of the notes, there are five “check yourself” slides that review the content and offer the opportunity for further discussion – great for informal formative assessments! The five check yourself slides are followed by slides giving the answers. The worksheets are geared to both problem solving and a conceptual understanding of speed. One worksheet is geared toward the content of the powerpoints (specifically, modeling/problem solving/vocabulary) and the other two worksheets are problem solving worksheets. All worksheets come with answer keys.
The rotocopter lab is a simple lab where students create rotocopters and investigate the factors that affect the rotocopter’s falling speed. I’ve used this lab as an introduction to measuring speed and I’ve also used it to introduce air resistance and terminal velocity when learning about acceleration due to gravity. This lab requires little in the way of supplies: the model template is included as are instructions. Your students will need the template, a pair of scissors, a paper clip, and some sort of timing device. Also included are student instructions if you want to do the lab in a guided fashion and guidance sheets if you prefer to have your students approach this lab as an inquiry-based activity.
This set would be appropriate as a first introduction to speed in a physical science class or in a 9th grade physics class. It was created to follow the theme in the Active Physics ™ curriculum of teaching speed through the lens of driving an automobile, but it stands alone perfectly well.
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