The links on the table below lead to portable document files that can be viewed and printed on any computer with Adobe Acrobat Reader.
The documents and all material contained therein are (c) Dean Baird. All rights reserved. They may be used by teachers and students for classroom instruction. Beyond that, no part of these documents may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the author.
| GUIDES | |
| 1 | UCM
&
Gravity Examples Definitions of quantities, description of equations, and worked-out example problems. |
| 2 | Uniform Circular Motion Description of circular motion and the corresponding parameters. |
| 3 | Planetary Data Reference Vital statistics on the sun, moon, and planets. (Not included here since it was based on a published table.) And poor Pluto has been deleted! |
| 4 | The History of
Gravity, part 1 The story of celestial mechanics from Aristotle and Aristarchus to Ptolemy and Copernicus. The History of Gravity, part 2 The story of celestial mechanics from Brahe and Kepler to Galileo and Newton. |
| 5 | Weighing the Earth An account of the Cavendish experiment for determining the universal gravitational constant. |
| JOBS | |
| 1 |
Uniform Circular
Motion Springboard - Answers - Presentation
(Zipped QuickTime) Classroom discussion introducing the geometry and physics that defines uniform circular motion. |
| 2 | Forced to Go in
Circles - Centripetal Force Springboard
- Answers
- Presentation
(Zipped QuickTime) Classroom discussion guide to develop the idea of the force needed to keep a body in UCM. |
| 3 | Centripetal
Force Bill Springboard - Answers -
Presentation
(Zipped QuickTime) Classroom discussion guide to develop the equation for centripetal force. |
| 4 | Superheroes of
Gravity - Answers -
Presentation
(Zipped QuickTime) Match the descriptors to the pictures! Physics cultural literacy for Aristotle, Ptolemy, Copernicus, Brahe, Kepler, Galieo, and Newton. |
| 5 | Be
Newton for a Day at Teachers Pay Teachers Step-by-step development of Newton's law of universal gravitation, starting from basic principals (circular geometry, Newton's second law of motion, and Kepler's Law of Harmony. Nice graphic motif. |
| 6 | Gravity Basics - Answers - Presentation (Zipped
QuickTime) Simple ratio exercises involving the law of universal gravitation. |
| 7 | UCM and Gravity Wrap-Up
- Answers Reviews UCM algebra and Universal Gravitation calculations. |
| 8 | Proportional Reasoning: Centripetal Force Edition
- Presentation
(Zipped QuickTime) |
| DEMOS - The unlinked titles below are available in the Conceptual Physics lab manual from Pearson Education - Amazon link | |
| *1* |
Will It Go 'Round In Circles? Yet another attempt to demonstrate the "centripetality" of the acceleration in circular motion. Requires a low-friction rotating platform and two Pasco Visual Accelerometers. I do not claim that this will "close the deal" in convincing your students. But it's another data point in their journey to understanding. And it's a groovy demo, so there's that. |
| *2* |
Will It Go 'Round in Even More Circles? This one gets at the relationship between centripetal acceleration and orbital radius on an objrct on a rotating platform. If a = v^2/R, why is there more acceleration on the outside of the platform? |
| LAB - The unlinked titles below are available in the Conceptual Physics lab manual from Pearson Education - Amazon link | |
| 1 |
Laws
of Attraction at Teachers Pay Teachers This TechLab employs the PhET simulator, Gravity Force: Basics to investigate the attraction between two masses. |
| *2* |
Worlds
of Wonder at Teachers Pay Teachers This TechLab employs the PhET simulator, My Solar System. Explore the basics of orbital mechanics. |
| OTHER | |
| 1 2 |
UCM
and Gravity Begins With an M (QuickTime) Part of the "Physics Begins with an M" series. This is a QuickTime export from Keynote that has been Zipped. UCM and Gravity Begins With an M Keynote A nifty Keynote presentation of the M's. (Keynote is Apple's presentation software; PowerPoint is Microsoft's presentation software.) Trust me, neither Keynote nor PowerPoint are The Great Saviors of education. I recommend using them sparingly if at all. Better to teach! |
| 3 | Kinetic
Karnival
-
Rotation
Part I at Teachers Pay Teachers The first few minutes of this episode are devoted to uniform circular motion. The questions here refer to those minutes. The rest of the episode is devoted to rotation, a topic for AP Physics 1. |
| 4 | The Mechanical
Universe: Kepler's Laws [Teachers
Pay Teachers question sets] This episode shows Kepler's development of his three laws of planetary motion. It includes excelelnt biographiocal information on Kepler and his difficult professional relationship with Tycho Brahe. Alternate forms accommodate students seated side-by-side. |
| 5 | The Mechanical
Universe: The Apple and the Moon [Teachers
Pay Teachers question sets] This episode shows Newton's development of the inverse square nature of gravitational force. It includes an excellent animation of "Newton's Cannon." Alternate forms accommodate students seated side-by-side. |
| 6 | 2001: A Space Odyssey
Extended Clip Questions Questions to accompany a 25-minute segment of the classic film. |
| 7 | UCM & Gravity Crossword
- Grid - Clues Crossword puzzles are highly personalized and may not always translate well from my classroom to yours. |
| 8 | Practice Test Sample test questions covering uniform circular motion and gravity. |
| OLD STUFF Some no longer used; some transferred to AP Physics 2. |
|
| Uniform Circular
Motion Video Springboard -
Answers Classroom discussion guide to develop the basic concepts and geometry of uniform circular motion. Uses Physics: Cinema Classics. |
|
| The
Rotor - Answers A determination of the coefficient of friction required in the old spinning chamber amusement park ride. Knowledge of circular motion, friction, and normal force is required. |
|
| Centrifugal
Weight
Loss
Springboard - Answers Classroom discussion guide to develop the idea of the force needed to keep a body in UCM. |
|
| Be
Kepler for a Day - Answers It took Kepler 30 years and 900 pages of calculations to work this out; we move through it a bit more quickly. We start with orbital period and orbital radius data and end up with the mathematical relationship known as Kepler's Law of Harmony. |
|
| The Apple and the Moon Springboard
- Presentation
(Zipped QuickTime) This one's a little intense. The idea is to go through the derivations shown in The Mechanical Universe video via classroom discussion and student participation (instead of watching them passively). Significant geometry and some algebra is used. |
|
| Journey to the Centre
of the Earth - Answers Use the Law of Universal Gravitation and the concept of density to determine what the Earth is made of. |
|
| Galactic Weigh Station
- Answers Use the Law of Unioversal Gravitation to determine the mass of astronomical bodies. At least ones with orbiting bodies. |
|
| From the Center of the
Earth to the Surface and Beyond - Answers What happens to gravity when you go inside the Earth; what happens to gravity when you move away from the Earth. |
|
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