Overall goal

Intuitive kinematics. Be able to relate physical motion to position and velocity graphs in one and two dimensions. Students need to relate a description of motion with the actual motion and with graphs first in one dimension and then two.

Plan

The big question for the entire 6-8 weeks is to understand how forces cause things to move. The first step is first two weeks that develop ways to describe and summarize motion. This lays the foundation for the subsequent introduction of force in two ways: by becoming familiar with velocity and the change of velocity (which is what a force does), and by introducing position and velocity vectors and vector decomposition (which will later be applied to force vectors).

Specific California standards for weeks 1-2

8PC1.a. Students know position is defined in relation to some choice of a standard reference point and a set of reference directions.
8PC1.b. Students know that average speed is the total distance traveled divided by the total time elapsed and that the speed of an object along the path traveled can vary.
8PC1.c. Students know how to solve problems involving distance, time, and average speed.
8PC1.d. Students know the velocity of an object must be described by specifying both the direction and the speed of the object.
8PC1.e. Students know changes in velocity may be due to changes in speed, direction, or both.
8PC1.f. Students know how to interpret graphs of position versus time (and graphs of speed versus time) for motion in a single direction.