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Projectile Motion: An Integrated Lesson
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by Dolores Gende
Parish Episcopal School
Dallas, Texas
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In education we continue to struggle with the integration of information technology into our classroom praxis. Email is easy, and some of us are using it to communicate with students or their parents. The Internet resources are making easily and widely available information that used to be buried in a few well-provisioned university libraries. Now it doesn't matter if you live in a large metropolitan area or rural region, with the Internet, information is equally available to all. But does this really represent the full utility of information technology in our classrooms? No, it doesn't. The increased availability of information technologies greatly enhances the teacher's ability to develop educational methodologies that broaden the chances for more students to succeed. Teachers can now present information visually, and often in interactive animations, so that the images complement the concepts. Students use the images to understand the concepts and also to serve as a cue that will help them recall the information later. Computer technology allows better production capabilities, giving teachers the opportunity to create learning environments to engage a full range of learning styles. Because physics, like other sciences, has a strong visual component, multimedia presentations can be used to make the material more realistic as well as easier to understand.
Teachers who adopt information technology in delivering their lessons soon discover that the role of the teacher changes from an information provider to a facilitator or director of learning experiences. Besides using technology as a tool for organization, communication, research, and problem solving, the teacher/facilitator has new ways to lead students step by step through complex ideas. Cooperative, project-based, and interdisciplinary work is also enhanced by the use of technology as one of many tools that students use. The purpose of this article is to offer a complete lesson plan on projectile motion that integrates Web-based technology.
Topic Objectives
Students should understand the motion of projectiles in a uniform gravitational field so they can: - Write down expressions for the horizontal and vertical components of velocity and position as functions of time, and sketch or identify graphs of these components.
- Use the expressions in analyzing the motion of a projectile that is projected above level ground with a specified initial velocity.
Background Material and Problem Solving
The information is presented to the students using a PowerPoint presentation. Presentation software makes it easy to present the material in a well-organized and reasonably linear manner. I use a color code for the class notes: white background, black font for text, blue font for data, red font for answers, and colored arrows for free-body diagrams and ray diagrams in optics.
The ability to build text, line by line, is convenient for asking questions in a cooperative learning environment. The combination of building and transitioning makes it possible to guide the students' eyes through each frame more easily than with any other method, including overhead transparencies. The PowerPoint slides help to establish a close physical relationship between the text describing a concept and the images that illustrate the application of the concept.
 Projectile Motion - PowerPoint Presentation (.zip/556KB)
Projectile Motion (.pdf /1.09 MB)
Graphics
Most physics textbooks include ancillaries such as multimedia managers or media portfolios that contain most of the text illustrations that can be copied to PowerPoint. I used the graphics from Wilson/Buffa, College Physics, Media Portfolio, 5th ed., 2003 (http://vig.prenhall.com/catalog/academic/product/0,4096,0130676446,00.html) (electronically reproduced by permission of Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, New Jersey). The problems' solutions can be done easily using the Equation Editor that is included in Microsoft Word.
Multimedia Animations
Chapter opener: "The Monkey and the Zookeeper" from the Physics Classroom
http://www.physicsclassroom.com/mmedia/vectors/mzi.html
Simulation
"Monkey and Balloon" by Raman Pfaff
The balloon shooter is always aimed directly at the monkey, which is hanging from a branch. When you fire the balloon toward the monkey, it lets go of the branch at the same instant. Some parameters can be changed, such as the distance (which changes the angle) and initial velocity.
http://www.csun.edu/~vceed002/explorsci/dswmedia/monkey.htm
Additional Multimedia Resources
These resources can be found in the Physics Classroom Web site.
Parabolic Motion of Projectiles
This simulation depicts the result of a vertical force acting upon a horizontally moving object, causing the object to deviate from a linear path.
http://www.physicsclassroom.com/mmedia/vectors/bds.html
Horizontally Launched Projectiles
This simulation shows the path of a cannonball launched horizontally from a high cliff.
http://www.physicsclassroom.com/mmedia/vectors/hlp.html
Non-horizontally Launched Projectiles
This simulation shows the path of a cannonball launched at an angle with respect to the horizontal from a high cliff.
http://www.physicsclassroom.com/mmedia/vectors/nhlp.html
Maximum Range
This simulation compares the ranges of projectiles when shot at 30°, 45°, and 60° with respect to the horizontal.
http://www.physicsclassroom.com/mmedia/vectors/mr.html
The Plane and the Package
This simulation shows the path of a package thrown from an airplane and its position with respect to the plane.
http://www.physicsclassroom.com/mmedia/vectors/pap.html
The Truck and the Ball
This simulation shows a ball projected straight up by a launcher located in the bed of a truck. The path of the ball and its location with respect to the truck is depicted.
http://www.physicsclassroom.com/mmedia/vectors/tb.html
Student Activities
1. Virtual Lab: Projectile Motion Graphs
Projectile Motion from the Physics Simulation Library
In this simulation you can control the initial speed and launch angle of a ball. This exercise allows the students to explore the different graphs of position and velocity in projectile motion and the concepts of range and maximum height. The simulation includes the option of air resistance for comparison.
http://www3.interscience.wiley.com:8100/legacy/college/halliday/0471320005/simulations6e/index.htm
2. Virtual Lab: Interactive Projectile Motion
Simulation from the University of Alabama
This simulation uses a graph of height versus distance and challenges the students to find a combination of velocity, angle, and mass that will yield specified values of range, height, and total flight time. Air resistance can be added to the simulation.
http://www.phy.uab.edu/~asim/projectile.html
3. Physlets™
James Walker's Physics: An Introduction, 1st ed., companion Web site: Physlet problems 3, 4, and 5
The Physlet Problems allow students to solve a problem by observing, applying physics concepts, and making measurements of parameters.
http://cwx.prenhall.com/bookbind/pubbooks/walker2/chapter4/deluxe.html
4. The Catapult Project
Dolores Gende: The Catapult Project
Students design and build working catapults and then perform calculations at various angles. Students also prepare detailed PowerPoint presentations as part of the project.
http://apphysicsb.homestead.com/catapult.html
5. Projectile Motion Open-Ended Lab
The free-response section of the AP Physics B Exam contains one open-ended lab question. It is very important that students understand what is expected from them. Laboratory exercises are typically well structured with step-by-step instructions. In open-ended labs, students are given an objective for the experiment but have significant latitude in terms of what procedure to follow and which measurements to take. Experimental results can therefore vary widely between students or groups. The objective of this technique is to challenge the students to think carefully about the experiment, rather than simply follow a set of instructions and record data on a sheet for later analysis. The students must prepare for the lab by doing some calculations, background reading, or other work.
Projectile Motion: Open-Ended Lab
Dolores Gende is a teacher at the Parish Episcopal School in Dallas, Texas. Although her degree is in chemical engineering, she has taught physics for 22 years. She is a Table Leader for the AP Physics Exam, an AP workshop consultant, and a Web designer. She has been AP Central's content adviser for physics since 2004.
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