Learnstream: Kinematics

June 13, 2011

Abstract Components related to kinematics with constant acceleration.

Introduction

.... Intro? Surely you must be joking, Mr. Feynman!

Components
I. Position, velocity, and acceleration A. Student should understand the relationship between position and velocity. B. Student should understand the relationship between position and acceleration. C. Student should understand the relationship between velocity and acceleration. 1. Student should understand accelerations as changes in velocity. Thus, a projectile with an upward positive velocity can have a negative acceleration. D. Student should be able to recognize and manipulate dierential relationships between x, v, a. E. Student should be able to recognize and derive kinematics formulas for constant acceleration. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. a(t) = a = const. v(t) = at + v0 x(t) = 1 at2 + v0 t + x0 2 x(t) = x0 + 1 (v0 + vf )t 2 2 2 vf = vi + 2ad where d is some distance traveled. Student should know when each of these apply, and when they do not.

F. Student should be able to convert word problems into mathematical relationships. II. Basic kinematics A. Student should recognize a kinematics problem and know which problem solving strategies to apply. 1. Student should recognize that kinematics involves vectors, and can be treated in terms of components. B. Student should be able to solve basic kinematics problems 1. Student should be able to draw a diagram of the problem. 2. Student should be able to write down all relevant kinematics equations for x, y , z and solve. III. Newtons First Law 1

A. Student should know Newtons rst law B. Student should understand terms relating to the rst law 1. Inertia 2. Inertial reference frames 3. Uniform (linear) motion C. Student should understand that constant linear motion means no net forces are acting on an object. IV. Newtons Second Law A. Student should know Newtons second law. B. Student should understand Newtons second law 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Net (unbalanced) forces lead to accelerations. Accelerations indicate there is a net (unbalanced force). The force is proportional to the mass times the acceleration. Large forces do not necessarily mean large accelerations. Forces are vectors, and can (should?) be broken down into components and treated separately. Student should understand Newtons second law in terms of changes in momentum.

C. Misconceptions 1. Student should not confuse velocity and acceleration; eg, a projectile with an upward velocity does not have an upward force on it. 2. Student should not confuse force and acceleration (see also Newtons third law). V. Newtons Third Law A. Student should know Newtons third law. B. Student should understand Newtons third law 1. Student should understand that forces arise from interactions between objects. 2. Student should understand that any interaction produces forces on both bodies that are equal and opposite. 3. Student should understand Newtons third law in terms of global conservation of momentum. C. Misconceptions 1. Student should not confuse force and acceleration. Just because two interacting objects have dierent accelerations does not mean they are experiencing dierent forces in violation of Newtons third law. VI. Classical forces A. Student should recognize and understand the types of forces that appear in kinematics problems 1. Gravitational force, acts on COM and points downward. 2. Contact forces, act on point of contact a. Friction, acts parallel to the surface. b. Normal force, acts perpendicular to the surface. c. Anything else that might be in contact with the body (such as a rope). 3. Thats it! B. Misconceptions

1. Student should not confuse an objects velocity with the presence of a force. Forces lead to accelerations, which are changes in velocity. Ex: A projectile moving upwards only has one force acting on it (force of gravity), and that force is pointing downwards which slows its upward velocity. VII. Weight and Mass A. Student should understand the dierence between weight and mass. B. Student should understand the (technical) dierence between inertial mass and gravitational mass, and understand their perhaps surprising equivalence. VIII. Units, etc. A. Basic units 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Student Student Student Student Student should should should should should know know know know know the the the the the units units units units units of of of of of position. velocity. acceleration. mass. force.

B. Student should be able to do basic dimensional analysis C. Student should be introduced to dimensionless variables 1. Should we include this...? People had a lot of troubles conceptually in AE.