Unit One - Mechanics

Topic One - Kinematics - Motion at Constant Velocity

Essential Question: How do we describe the linear motion of an object that is moving at a constant velocity?

Topic Objectives:

1. Students will use appropriate units to describe the motion of an object.
2. Students will distinguish between scalar and vector quantities.
3. Students will determine the distance and displacement of on object in quantitative, qualitative, and graphical terms.
4. Students will determine the speed and velocity of on object in quantitative, qualitative, and graphical terms.

Topic Two - Kinematics - Uniform Acceleration

Essential Question: How do we describe the linear motion of an object that is undergoing uniform acceleration?

Topic Objectives:

1. Student will determine the acceleration of an object and express it in qualitative, quantitative, and graphical terms.
2. Using the relationships of velocity, acceleration, and displacement, students will compare and contrast different forms of motion in qualitative, quantitative, and graphical terms.
3. Students will explain the effects of gravity on the motion of freely falling bodies in qualitative, quantitative, and graphical terms.

Topic Three - Dynamics

Essential Question: How does the application of a force affect the motion or position of an object?

Topic Objectives:

1. Students will demonstrate Newton's Laws of Motion using various moving bodies.
2. Students will summarize the relationship between the an object's mass, the distance between the body and Earth, and the resulting gravitational force.
3. Students will describe the gravitational field strength in terms of weight.
4. Students will compare and contrast various types of friction (i.e. static, rolling, kinetic, fluid) and calculate the value of the coefficient of friction between given materials.
5. Students will demonstrate impulse.
6. Students will explain how to calculate the change in an object's momentum.
7. Students will apply the Law of Conservation of Momentum.