I can do this!

My students are currently studying projectile motion. I've been looking through the Learning Center for an engaging, but rigorous activity. I am going to use this lab to better help them un... See More

My students are currently studying projectile motion. I've been looking through the Learning Center for an engaging, but rigorous activity. I am going to use this lab to better help them understand launch angle and how acceleration due to gravity is derived. I especially like that students manipulate their data to determine the relationship between variables. This lab will be a wonderful addition when studying projectile motion.

Real-world Projectile Motion Application

Although this article does not quite reinvent the wheel, it articulates how a teacher could use relatively inexpensive ramps and marbles to study projectile motion; although motion detectors... See More

Although this article does not quite reinvent the wheel, it articulates how a teacher could use relatively inexpensive ramps and marbles to study projectile motion; although motion detectors are mentioned they are not a necessary technological component to applying the ideas presented into your classroom. The article extols combining energy and motion and then taking the entire content studied out of the classroom and into the realm of dirt bikes and other vehicles that capture the attentions of many students. This perhaps is the best part of the article for it promotes answers to the question, “Why should I care about studying projectile motion?” The authentic assessment rubric provided is a useful model as well as the discussions of the pedagogy sustaining the value of the lesson. It is a nice article to consider for real-world applications and as a methods course analysis.