Download Tutor Notes

60 minute physics
Nine hands-on activities:
with GCSE Physics curriculum links
Forces &
motion
Mapping data
Digital
Electric
circuits
Machines &
electromagnets
Flight &
movement
Light
Storing energy
Forces &
motion
Changing
states
Forces & motion
STEM engagement materials developed for the Royal Air Force
Forces and motion: the physics of rollercoasters
This activity forms part of a suite of physics-related activities developed by West Yorkshire STEM in
collaboration with the University of Leeds. They have been funded by the Royal Air Force to encourage
pupils to think positively about STEM generally and physics in particular. Each activity has been designed
to be interactive and linked to GCSE physics specifications of OCR and AQA. Stretch or extension activities
are provided in the content for additional follow-up beyond the session.
Forces &
motion
To run this activity you will need:
•A flat teaching space with enough room for small groups (4-6) to work together to build their
rollercoasters.
•Powerpoint facilities to introduce the content and activities (using ‘Forces and motion.pptx’).
(for building rollercoasters)
•Pipe insulation cut in half lengthwise (2-3 pipes for each group)
•1 marble (each group)
•1 paper/polystyrene cup (each group)
•5 rolls of masking tape (to be used by the whole class)
•3 packs of skewers, toothpicks, etc. (to be used by the whole
class)
•2 packs of blue tack (to be used by the whole class)
•1 roll on string (to be used by the whole class)
•1 pack of drinking straws (to be used by the whole class)
•1 ‘Certificate of completion’ for each student - produced
as part of these materials (‘Certificate_forces_and_motion.pdf’)
Level: KS3/KS4
GCSE Science curriculum links: Forces and motion
Objectives of the session:
•Understand Newton’s Laws of Motion
•Demonstrate an understanding of potential and kinetic energy
•Understand the principle of conservation of energy
Session length: 60 mins
•Newton and the Laws of Motion (5 mins)
•The Conservation of energy (5 mins)
•Potential and Kinetic energy (5 mins)
•Building rollercoasters utilising the principle of conservation of energy (45 mins)
Background reading: Newton
•Provide participants with the
background reading - produced as part
of these materials (‘Newton.pdf’).
2
Slide 1
Introduction to the session
•Introduce yourself as the facilitator and outline (briefly) your
STEM background.
•Ask STEM Ambassadors (if present) to (briefly) introduce
themselves and to say which STEM discipline/industry they
are from.
Slide 2
Newton’s Laws of Motion
•IIsaac Newton
•He was an established physicist and mathematician
•He discovered gravity, and the laws of motion that underpin
much of modern physics.
•Sir Isaac Newton is the scientist whose ideas and laws have
led to modern day physics and the study of motion.
•Newton lived from 1643-1727.
•He was knighted for his ideas about motion, gravity, and
more.
•During his studies he came up with 3 laws of motion.
Laws:
•A scientific law is a statement based on repeated experimental observations
that describes some aspects of the universe.
•A scientific law always applies under the same conditions, and implies that there is a causal relationship
involving its elements.
•Statements that describe or predict a range of phenomena behave as they appear to in nature
Motion:
•Motion is the process of something moving or changing place or even just changing position.
•There are a lot of factor involved every time something moves:
•Speed is how long it takes for an object to travel a certain distance. Its formula is distance divided
by time, or d/t. A car’s speed is often measured in how many miles it can travel in an hour. So the
distance is miles and the time is hours (distance / time = Miles/Hour, or Miles per Hour, or mph).
•Velocity and speed are very close and often mixed up. They both measure d/t. Velocity adds an
extra step; it measures distance over time or speed in a given direction. So a car’s speed could be
55 mph, but its velocity would be 55mph in a northward direction.
•Acceleration is when any part of an object’s velocity changes. If the object speeds up or travels
over a given distance in a shorter amount of time, then there is acceleration. There can also be
acceleration if an object changes direction. So even if the car continues to travel at the speed of
55mph but turns and heads in an eastward direction, it is still accelerating.
•Force is any type of a push or a pull. In order for an object to accelerate it needs to have a force
acted upon it. In other words, in order for an object to change speed or direction it needs to be
pushed or pulled.
•Mass is the amount of matter (stuff) that something is. It is usually measured in grams.
3
Slide 3
Newton’s Laws of Motion (continued)
•Newton’s first law is concerned with balanced forces.
The first law states that if a body is at rest and the forces
acting on it are balanced then the body will remain at rest.
However if the body is moving and the forces acting are
balanced then the body will keep moving at constant speed
in a straight line.
•Newton’s second law is concerned with unbalanced forces.
Unbalanced forces produce acceleration. The bigger the
unbalanced force the bigger the acceleration. This law is
usually written as an equation: F = ma .
•Newton’s third law concerns equal and opposite forces. It
states that, “If A exerts a force on B, then B exerts an equal
but opposite force on A.”
Slide 4
Conservation of energy in Rollercoasters
•One of the fundamental laws of nature is that energy
cannot be made or destroyed, just converted from one form
into another.
•If you think about it, you require energy to run about.
That energy comes from your food which by one means
or another has got its energy from the sun (plants by
photosynthesis, animals by eating plants).
•However, when you convert from one form of energy into
another not all of the energy you begin with is converted
into the useful energy. Some energy will be converted into
unwanted types of energy, ie it is wasted. These unwanted
types of energy reduce the amount of useful energy which
is transferred during a process.
•For example, a car engine converts chemical energy into
kinetic energy to allow it to move – but there are several other forms of energy involved in the process,
with some energy being wasted (or ‘lost’) because it is converted to heat and sound by the engine.
The amount of useful energy (in a car, this is mainly kinetic energy) is less than the amount of energy
contained in the fuel. The efficiency of the process is less than 100% because of these ‘energy losses’
Slide 5
Riding a Rollercoaster
•Gravitational potential energy - - the energy gained while
rising a certain height.
•When work is done on an object it may also lead to
energy being transferred to the object in the form of
gravitational potential energy of the object.
•Gravitational potential energy is the energy an object has
by virtue of its position above the surface of the Earth.
When an object is lifted, work is done. When work is done
in raising the height of an object, energy is transferred as
a gain in the gravitational potential energy of the object.
4
Slide 6 - 8
Riding a Rollercoaster (continued)
•Kinetic energy - The energy that moving objects have.
•When work is done the energy is transferred from one type to another. This transferred energy may
appear as kinetic energy.
•For example, when you pedal your bicycle so that its speed increases, you are doing work to transfer
chemical energy from your muscles to the kinetic energy of the bicycle.
•Kinetic energy is the energy an object possesses by virtue of its movement. The amount of kinetic
energy possessed by a moving object depends on the mass of the object and its speed. The greater the
mass and the speed of the object the greater its kinetic energy.
Slide 9 - 11
Let’s build our own Rollercoasters!
•Working in groups!
•Materials should be given out to the students prior to starting.
•Students will be awarded points for the tricks their rollercoasters can do!
5
Slide 12
RAF examples: forces and motion in action
•The different effects of G-force on a pilot.
•Shows 1-G to 6-G.
Slide 13
RAF examples: forces and motion in action (continued)
•The G-force effects of a pull-up from a 70 degree dive
for a pilot.
•If the pilot pulls the aircraft up in 3 seconds would be
equivalent force on him/her of more than 4-G.
•If the pilot pulls the aircraft up in 1 second would be
equivalent force on him/her of more than 6-G.
6