This week we will continue getting to know each other and the learning method for this class. We will further introduce the "Four Lenses of Mechanics" and start to become familiar with them.

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this week you will be able to:

Define active learning and explain some benefits of active learning
Discuss observations and form explanations involving momentum
Describe the relationship between energy and motion
Explain how forces change momentum and energy

Day 2 | Monday 9/25 | How We Learn

"Wow, this class feels like it is going fast!" If you are feel something like that, take a deep breath. You are getting to know our learning method and developing your study habits. We will do the same sorts of things every day. Once you get comfortable with the expectations, I think you will come to appreciate our consistent and reliable structure (with a few extra activities).

ATTENTION! I am constantly updating Canvas. You MUST refresh the Canvas in order to see the updated version. Please reload Canvas every time you look at it. I have a number of "24-hour" policies. Here is one: I reserve the right to change anything as short as 24 hours before class. For instance, Monday morning, I could add a problem to the problem set due Tuesday, so you should check the problem set Monday. I rarely do this, AND I wouldn't penalize you for not doing it... it's just that I may get an idea at the last minute that it would be good for you to see an extra problem.

I've added a link to submit PS#1 on the homepage. Please submit before your class time tomorrow, Tuesday.

Disclosure: I may offend you... :-(

Reading over student evaluation statements, I recognize I manage to offend/disappoint a portion of the students. You can read the whole evaluations (the good, bad and ugly) yourself on links to past classes.

**sigh** I never mean to offend anyone. Additionally, your happiness in the class is very important to me. And yet, I can get frustrated and students take it personally... even if it just me. So, what does one do? I will double down to be more sensitive to the student experience. At the same time, there's some wisdom in accepting one's self for who one is... and practicing truth in advertising. That is, I'm letting you know that I may offend you. If I do, you would be correct in recognizing that it is all me, and not due to anything about you. Additionally, if you tell me I have offended you, I will likely be grateful for the enlightenment. I'm always interested in helping you learn, and allowing you to help me learn too.

Goals:

By the end of today you will be able to...

Recognize the units for: distance (meters), speed (meters/second), and energy (Joules)
Articulate your thoughts about learning
Discuss observations and form explanations using energy exchange
Analyze motion by observing position and calculating speed information

Before Class:

Video: Watch Say the Wrong Thing [8m3s]
Textbook: Read Ch 1.2 - Energy [4 pg, 4 ex]
Textbook: Read Ch 1.3 - Position and Velocity [3 pg, 3 ex]
Discussion: Please add a comment or question to the Week 1 Reading Discussion.
Video: Watch Dropping Rock Energy Transformations [6m47s]
Video: Watch Position and Velocity [7m8s]

Important note about the videos: "Lectures" in this class are given via the videos. Consider: how should we watch a video? Do we watch them while doing other tasks? Do we watch music videos or listen to music at the same time? Or do we take notes and really try to engage our thinking? The videos are like what you would see in a traditional lecture but each one is much shorter because I've edited out each pause, BUT you can stop and make me repeat as much as you like. How often do you stop the video to take notes and/or rewind to hear something again? Is it possible to watch the videos with other people?

You should take notes as you watch the videos, just like you were in lecture, so you have written notes to review later. (If you put a date/timestamp in your notebook, you can go back and re-watch a video later if you need to see it again to figure out what is going on.) If something in a video is unclear, be sure to write down your questions to ask your group members, and if it's unclear for others as well... then I want to hear from you, because we'll need to discuss it in class! The scientific findings on physics education research indicates that although this flipped classroom model may not seem like education, this style is more effective than traditional "here is how it works" lecturing by an "expert".

Remember, this is a four-unit class so the time expectation is 12 hours of learning per week - four in class, eight out of class. The daily tasks (videos, reading, discussions, surveys) are meant to take you roughly one hour to complete each day. If it is taking you considerably longer than that, let me know. For the textbook exercises, at least write down the lens + motivation and draw a picture for each one. If you have a good idea how to solve it, keep going. If not, come to class to ask your group mates. The weekly problem sets are taken from the textbook exercises so you will have a head start on them if you try the exercises as you go. Our time in class together will be more productive if you are well-prepared to engage in discussion and problem-solving with those around you.

During Class: Class Slides

We will look at a collision on an (almost) frictionless surface. Momentum and energy are conserved, and in a closed system, they don't change. However, can one or both of these change forms?
We will discuss ways of learning.
We will discuss position and velocity and how they are related.

Please consider the demo where one cart hits a stationary cart and they move off together at a low speed.

How do you change momentum? Is momentum conserved? How do you know?... Or don’t you know?
How do you change energy? Is energy conserved?
How do you change velocity?... cause acceleration? Is velocity conserved? How do you know?... Or don’t you know?
What about motion? Can you make a speed vs time graph for each cart? Can you make a position vs time graph for each cart?

Day 3 | Tuesday 9/26 | Practicing the Four Lenses, PS#1 due

The video, Estimating the Speed of Rockets, is the foundation of our video project that we will do next week, so learn all you can from this video. The video is slowed down a considerable amount. However, you may want to slow it down more in YouTube if this helps. In order to see the YouTube url, right click (or Apple click?) on the video. Remember in order to get credit for videos, you have to watch on PlayPosit all the way to the end of the video.

Goals:

By the end of today you will be able to...

Recognize the units for: acceleration (m/s²), and force (the Newton, 1 N = 1 kg m/s²)
Be more conscious of the lens (concept) we are looking through or if we are not using a lens
Practice using lenses
Explain how forces change momentum and energy
Demonstrate your ability to apply the lens method of problem solving

Before Class:

Homework: Upload your first homework, Problem Set #1, to Canvas before class.
Textbook: Read Ch 1.4 - Forces [2 pg, 1 ex]
Textbook: Read Ch 1.5 - Acceleration [3.5 pg, 5 ex]
Article: Read "Measuring actual learning versus feeling of learning in response to being actively engaged in the classroom" [external link] (Links to an external site.)
Consider this quote from the article:
“Despite active learning being recognized as a superior method of instruction in the classroom, a major recent survey found that most college STEM instructors still choose traditional teaching methods. This article addresses the long-standing question of why students and faculty remain resistant to active learning. Comparing passive lectures with active learning using a randomized experimental approach and identical course materials, we find that students in the active classroom learn more, but they feel like they learn less. We show that this negative correlation is caused in part by the increased cognitive effort required during active learning. Faculty who adopt active learning are encouraged to intervene and address this misperception.”
Discussion: Please leave a thoughtful comment, statement, or question about the reading on our Week 1 Reading Discussion .
Video: Watch Forces effect on momentum and energy. [6m42s] In this video I make a mistake in two instances... I say "conserved" when I should have said, "constant". Can you identify these two times during the video?
Video: Watch Estimating speed of rockets [1m13s]
Study: The solutions to PS#1 should be posted on the Canvas homepage, top row (Week 1), at right. We will have our first in-class Weekly Assessment tomorrow, Wednesday. Review what you have learned so far. Follow the rubric in the syllabus to know what to expect.
PS #2 should be posted under the link on the Canvas Homepage. Please have a look at it as soon as possible.

During Class: Class Slides

We will discuss our experience of learning and how our feelings about it may change.
We will observe how forces change momentum and acceleration is change in velocity.
We will end by comparing roller coaster rides.

Short note: "Conservation" vs. "Constant"... they are not the same.

"Momentum is always conserved, but can flow from one object to another object via a force. So, if the force on a system is zero, then the momentum of the system doesn't change... is constant."... conversely, "if there is a nonzero force acting on a system, this force will change the momentum of the system. Because momentum is conserved, we know that there will be an equal and opposite change of momentum in the outside world, caused by that same force on the other interacting object."

Day 4 | Wednesday 9/27 | Exploring Energy, Momentum and Forces, Assessment #1

We will have our first learning assessment today. ALREADY?!? Yup. We want you to practice your problem-solving every day so you can build your skills over time. This one doesn't count toward the grade but gives you a first look at what to expect each week.

If you would like to watch a video more than once and see the questions, just click the small vertical bars at the bottom of the video that indicate where the questions are located in the video.

Anticipated Assessment #1 results:

Traditionally almost everyone fails the first assessment - because students are used to answering questions by putting numbers in to a formula... but we have a larger protocol to follow, explaining the underlying concepts of the problem. Do you know this protocol?

Goals:

By the end of today you will be able to...

Recognize units of energy, Joules = kg m²/s²
Describe observations of energy transfer
Explain the transformation of energy between potential energy and kinetic energy
Explain observations of how forces change momentum.

Before Class: Class Slides

I've posted PS#1 solutions on the homepage
Textbook: Read Ch 1.6 - Kinetic and Gravitational Potential Energy [3.5 pg, 8 ex]
Textbook: Read Ch 1.7 - Forces, Momentum, and Work [1.5 pg, 1 ex]
Discussion: Post a response to the reading on our Week 1 Reading Discussion .
Video: Watch Derive kinetic energy [6m27s]
Video: Watch Pushing Box Problem [14m6s]
Survey: Take this Short Survey [4 questions]

During Class:

We will take Weekly Assessment #1 [10 min].
We will consider the question: If we throw a ball off a cliff and want it to maximize the final speed when it hits the ground, what direction should we throw it, or doesn't it matter?
We will look at balls rolling off ramps. The goal is to practice using the 4 different concepts and recognize that we are reluctant to use them. Instead of invoking the new tools, we often revert to methods of reasoning that we have used before! The goal is to increase our awareness that we do that!... and practice with the new tools.
We will consider what happens with momentum when a ball is thrown off a cliff.

Day 5 | Thursday 9/28 | Lens Application, Scaling

Chapter 1.8 is probably the MOST IMPORTANT SECTION in the textbook. please read through and in the future, refer back to this roadmap for addressing questions. Consider putting the important ideas on your idea sheet.

You've probably heard of Elon Musk, right? He earned undergraduate degrees in physics and economics. Regardless of how we feel about him personally, the article in today's reading gives some insight into his approach to engineering by simplifying problems with scaling. Even though the chapter on scaling might seem boring, it underpins so much about our society, science, and biology... what do you think?

Goals:

By the end of the today you will be able to...

Use the results of your assessment to improve your lens application
Articulate a justification for which lens to use
Explain how changing one aspect of a scenario (like size, density, speed, force) changes something else (like mass, momentum, energy)
Practice using multiple lenses on a given problem
Identify the source of "hidden" momentum gained by rollercoaster

Before Class:

Assessment #1 solutions posted on the Canvas homepage.
Video: Watch Motivating and Applying Lenses in Mechanics [10m21s]
Textbook: Read Ch 1.8 - Applying the Four Lenses [3 pg, 3 ex]
Textbook: Read Ch 1.9 - Scaling [1 pg, 4 ex]
Article: Read about how Elon Musk's companies use scaling.
Discussion: Please leave a statement or question on our Week 1 Reading Discussion
Video: Watch Metric System and Scaling [9m56s]
Reflect: on our roller coaster demo from this week. If you think your old model was incorrect, please develop a new model to explain what you think we will see.
Please start PS #2, link on Canvas homepage

During Class: Class Slides

We will consider some scaling scenarios.
We will explore the rollercoaster demo through the momentum lens.
We will consider where momentum comes from.
We will discuss conserved vs. constant quantities.
We will receive feedback on our first weekly assessment and discuss the results.

Week 1 Wrap-up

Wow, we made it through Week 1! How do you feel? I hope it has been rewarding and I hope you are starting to get the hang of this class. Take a moment to reflect on the week's learning objectives and consider whether or not you met them. If not, perhaps review some of the material or the discussion board or post a question.

If you are enjoying the videos but are looking for more, consider following Veritasium on YouTube. There are lots of great science videos. My favorite one is this one, about land-sailing.