Introduction
The topic I
chose to demonstrate is Circular Motion.
I find this to be a very interesting topic that is present in many
things we see and experience. I
hope that because of this it can be understood and interesting.
It starts
off with a discussion with same examples which most people will have
encountered. For example:
Roller
coasters
Roads
angled up around curves in the road
Motion
of planets around the sun
These
examples will hopefully show that such a thing as circular motion does exist,
and the forces related are necessary for the above to be possible. Before I start on circular motion I take
a few steps back and talk about
Next we start with finding what tangential velocity is, and how vectors
represent this. Now centripetal
acceleration and centripetal force can be derived with help of the
demonstrations. I found it
important to verify that the centripetal force is not a new force and show how
some familiar forces “act” as the centripetal force. The final demonstration gives the
students a fun way to see the factors necessary to obtain circular motion .
I hope this
lesson and the demonstrations will provide an enjoyable and comprehensive
understanding of circular motion. These students will hopefully leave with
the ability to recognize and apply this to everyday life. I find it important to show where
equations come from, this way one can understand instead of memorize.