Motion: Speed and Velocity

Resource ID#: 51000

Primary Type: Lesson Plan

This document was generated on CPALMS - www.cpalms.org

In this lesson students should be able to :

 Identify appropriate SI units for measuring speed.

 Compare and contrast average speed and instantaneous speed.
 Interpret position-time graphs.
 Calculate the speed of an object using slopes.

Subject(s): Science, Mathematics, English Language Arts

Grade Level(s): 9, 10, 11
Intended Audience: Educators
Suggested Technology: Graphing Calculators, Computer for Presenter, Computers for Students,
Probes for Data Collection, Basic Calculators, LCD Projector, Microsoft Office
Instructional Time: 2 Hour(s)
Resource supports reading in content area: Yes
Freely Available: Yes
Keywords: speed , average speed, instantaneous speed, velocity, vector, slope, formula, graph,
graphing
Instructional Component Type(s): Lesson Plan, Problem-Solving Task, Assessment, Data
Set, Formative Assessment
Instructional Design Framework(s): Demonstration, Predict-Explain-Observe-Explain,
Structured Inquiry (Level 2)
Resource Collection: CPALMS Lesson Plan Development Initiative

ATTACHMENTS

3_The_Notion_of_Motion.docx
7_Unit_1_Assessment_(Version_1).docx
Unit_1_Self_Assessment_(Version_1_Answer_Key).docx

LESSON CONTENT

 Lesson Plan Template:

General Lesson Plan

 Learning Objectives: What should students know and be able to do as a result of this
lesson?

As a result of this lesson students should be able to:

1. Identify appropriate SI units for measuring speed.

2. Compare and contrast average speed and instantaneous speed.
3. Interpret distance-time graphs.
4. Calculate the speed of an object using slopes.
5. Describe how velocities combine.
 Prior Knowledge: What prior knowledge should students have for this lesson?

At the beginning of this section students should know:

o Motion is described as a change of position in relation to a frame of reference.

o How to distinguish between distance and displacement.
o How to calculate simple vector operations as addition and subtraction.
o How to identify positive and negative integers on a number line.
o Basic graphing skills.

Be aware of the common misconception of speed and velocity--students often confuse them and think they
are the same quantity.
 Guiding Questions: What are the guiding questions for this lesson?

The teacher will ask questions about the previous lesson:

0. What is a frame of reference? A frame of reference is made up of three components an object of

reference (fix or attach to the ground), a coordinate system (x, y), and a clock to record time.
1. What two things must you know to describe the motion of an object? You must know the
direction the object is moving and how fast the object is moving.
2. Compare and contrast distance and displacement. Distance is the length of a path between two
points, whereas displacement is the direction from a starting position and the length of a straight
line from the starting point to the final position.
3. How are scalars and vectors similar or different? Scalars are defined by a number (magnitude)
and its unit, otherwise vectors are defined by a number (magnitude) and its unit as well as the
direction.
4. When is an object moving with constant motion? An object is moving with constant motion
when it's covering equal distances in equal amounts of time.
 Teaching Phase: How will the teacher present the concept or skill to students?

The teacher will present the concept of speed using an inquiry based demo.

The Notion of Motion from Bioscope (See attachment file).

Recall how motion can be described in terms of changing position in relation to a frame of reference, how
far or close an object is from the starting position (distance or displacement) or how fast or slow this
change occurred at a time interval. To help students grasp the concept of speed, the teacher should first
introduce the concept of constant motion, (an object covering equal distances in equal amounts of time-
naturally motivates the concept of speed). A good way to introduce this concept could be obtained from the
buggy car demo above.

Ask students to explain the opposite of constant, and then introduce non-constant motion, (an object that
does not cover equal distances in equal intervals of time--this provides the motivation to develop the
concept of average speed). Asked students to provide examples to arrive at this conclusion: their school
bus, walking from their homes to the school, etc.

Explain to students that we can translate this observation into the language of math and then introduce the
equation to calculate average speed.

Discuss with the students that average speed is useful because it lets you know how long a trip will take.
Sometimes however, such as when you are driving you need to know how fast you are going at a particular
moment. The car's speedometer gives your instantaneous speed. Define instantaneous speed, v, is the rate at
which an object is moving at a given moment in time.

After students are clear about constant speed and average speed, the teacher will:

Let a buggy car move across table and ask for observations. List observations and then
ask which items are quantifiable. Lead them to observe that the buggy car moves at
constant speed; i.e., that it travels equal distances in equal time intervals.

The dependent variable is position (x). Emphasize that we are dealing with position, not displacement or
distance traveled.
 The independent variable is time (t). Emphasize time as a clock reading and not an interval. Why make
time independent? Because when time is graphed on a horizontal axis, the slope will be equivalent to
velocity.

o Stopwatches and battery-powered vehicles are easier to use than "stomper" cars and photogates.
(Honors classes may be able to handle use of photogates at this stage.) Teachers may choose to
have the students collect the data (position and time). They should be reminded to perform
multiple trials with at least 6 data pairs/trial. Averaging the values of position helps them develop
a sense of the precision they should carry through the analysis. Otherwise they are guilty of
adhering to Lillenthal's Laws:
1. If reproducibility is a problem, conduct only 1 test.
2. If a straight line plot is required, collect only two data points.
o Focus discussion on the position versus time relationship. (Linear) Use slope-intercept form to
write equation of line (e.g. mx+b).
o Discuss the slope of the line as being a constant. Introduce the label units of slope (m/s).
o Identify v (velocity) as the slope in the slope-intercept equation.
o Discuss the vertical intercept and the "5% rule-of-thumb". In most cases, the intercept is
negligible.
o From the specific equation, write general mathematical model. Discuss displacement when initial
position is not zero.
 Guided Practice: What activities or exercises will the students complete with teacher
guidance?

Among many activities that students are supposed to complete for this lesson with the teacher guidance are:

Reading Focus, Venn Diagram (Speed and Direction ) Look for samples of Venn Diagram on the web.

The Notion of Motion Demo or The Buggy Demo: here students will record and graph data for position and
time. Interpret a graph of position vs. time, the meaning of slope, y-intercept; the teacher will explore
positive, negative and zero slopes.

Math Skills:

The teacher should guide students into a problem solving strategy. Math practice problems are found in any
core textbook.

Example:

While traveling from Miami to Orlando on a vacation trip, you recorded the following data for distances
and time to cover them.

You travel the first 150 Kilometers in 2.5 hours, and the second part of the trip, 100
kilometers in 1.4 hours. What was your average speed for this trip?

1. Read and Understand

What information is given?

Total distance d= 150 km + 100 km = 250 km Total time t= 2.5 h + 1.4 h = 3.9 h 2.

2. Plan and Solve

What unknown are you trying to calculate?

 Average Speed v-?

What equation contains the given quantities and the unknown?

Replace or substitute each variable with its known value.

1. Look back and Check

Is your answer reasonable?

Yes, 64.10 km/h is a typical highway speed.

 Independent Practice: What activities or exercises will students complete to reinforce

the concepts and skills developed in the lesson?

Students should be able to complete the following exercises and problems to reinforce the concepts and
skills developed in the lesson:

0. Define speed and average speed.

1. How is instantaneous speed different from average speed?
2. A student walked 2.5 km in 50 minutes on the way to school, and then, realizing he was late, ran
the remaining 0.5 km on 2.5 minutes. Calculate his average speed on the way to the school.
3. What does the slope of a line on a position-time graph represent?
4. How do speed and velocity differ?
 Closure: How will the teacher assist students in organizing the knowledge gained in the
lesson?

The teacher will close the lesson by asking questions about what students learned in class today.

o What is speed? How is it calculated?

o What is average speed?
o What is the relationship between steepness of the slope of a distance-time graph and speed?
o What is velocity? How is it calculated?
o What are the SI units for speed and velocity?

Finally the teacher should review the misconception that speed and velocity are the same thing.

 Summative Assessment

The teacher will determine if the students have reached the learning targets for this resource by taking
traditional multiple-choice, true/false, and/or fill in the blank assessments.

One such assessment, the Bioscopes Unit 1 Self Assessment (attached), is an excellent test to monitor
students gains in graphical analyses and critical thinking.

 Formative Assessment

Among many activities for teachers to gather information, formal and informal, student understanding may
be demonstrated by:
 Focus activity (recommended to build vocabulary)

o Engage students to draw a Venn Diagram (a visual aid that compares and contrasts ideas) showing
how the key terms of the section are related to each other (Speed and Direction).
o The teacher should walk around the room to check student work, using questions to guide them
toward the main idea. Student diagrams should show circles labeled Speed and Direction. The area
in which the circles overlap should be labeled Velocity. Speed might include magnitude, units,
scalar etc. and direction might include north, south, east, west, right, lefty, up, down, vector. At
this point the teacher should be monitoring students progress by their drawings.
o The teacher may ask the student with the best Venn Diagram to draw it on the board and to
explain it to the rest of the class, then an open discussion about the presentation with the guide of
the teacher will wrap this activity up (Inclusion and ESOL students might have trouble finding the
answers). Teacher will informally monitor students progress verbally.
o Venn Diagrams can be created manually or electronically. Electronic Venn Diagrams can be
created at sites such as:
http://www.matm/Venn_Diagram/Venn_Diagram_Template_Two_Set.html
o A more formal assessment to gather data about students progress in this content is attached. (See
Attachments)
 Feedback to Students

Students will get feedback about their performance or understanding during the lesson in different stages
during and after the class time by:

Encouraging them to check their findings with a classmate and the teacher during the exploration and
explanation of the Venn Diagram;
Checking the core textbook for reinforcement;
Homework will reinforce their learning and provide feedback over their understanding of the content as
well.

ACCOMMODATIONS & RECOMMENDATIONS

 Accommodations:

ESOL students will create a word wall: Students can relate the concepts in this section to the vocabulary
words by creating a word wall. Write the words speed, average speed, instantaneous speed, and velocity on
the board. Then, as students work through the section in the core textbook or additional resource physics
book, magazine, etc., ask them to define each word in their own words. Discuss their definitions and write
acceptable definitions on the board next to each word. Students may also draw a graph or paste a magazine
picture next to the corresponding word.

Inclusion students will get extended time to complete the Venn Diagram and to graph the data collected for
position and time. They will only do one trial, using three points to complete the line. The math treatment
might be very simple for them: slope is the rise over the run.

Gifted students should take data using the data recording device and compare their data with the data from
teacher demo, also they should explain the meaning of the y-intercept from their graph of Position-Time.

 Extensions:

The teacher should challenge their students by graphing lines on position vs. time graph.

o with positive, negative , zero slopes.

o lines with different steepness that intercept at one point or are parallel to each other.
 o a line with different slope, and explain the meaning of each part of the path.

This lesson can be integrated with Earth Science as well: How can continents move? Suggest the idea
proposed by Alfred Wegener, a German meteorologist, that all Earth's continents were once part of a single
landmass called Pangaea, meaning "all Earth".

 Suggested Technology: Graphing Calculators, Computer for Presenter, Computers for Students, Probes for
Data Collection, Basic Calculators, LCD Projector, Microsoft Office
 Special Materials Needed:

The materials for the demo are:

o any slow-moving battery powered toy vehicle

o stop watches
o meter sticks
o masking tape
o graph paper

High Tech Demo:

o Graphical Analysis for data collection (Vernier Software Technologies-Logger Pro recommended,
or you might use Excel Spreadsheet to record students data and graph) http://www.vernier.com/
o Computer or data interface
o Interval timer/marker
 Further Recommendations:

Some things to keep in mind when implementing this lesson/topic:

1. It is important to describe motion in terms of position and time, rather than distance.
Position is much less ambiguous than distance (sometimes regarded as the path length,
sometimes as displacement). Some authors use 's' to describe this variable; we prefer 'x'
for horizontal motion (and 'y' when the motion is vertical). We advise against the use of
'd'. When it comes time to discuss the slope of the position-time graph, the definition for
velocity naturally arises. Change in position is superior to change in distance; the latter is
a difference of differences. Change in position is the definition of displacement, the
quantity that helps distinguish velocity from speed. Displacement can be (+) or (-),
distance is by definition (+).

2. When discussing the meaning of the graphs, be sure to use a wide variety of examples.

Induce the students to describe the motion in full detail (e.g., the object starts somewhere
to the right of the origin and moves to the left at constant speed).
 3. Using an enlargement of one of their graphs, have the students manually calculate the
slope and compare to the value obtained by graphical analysis. Students have been
conditioned to think of slope only as "rise over run" or "change in y" over "change in x".

1. Make sure that they have a thorough grasp of the relationship between slope and velocity. The
answer "1's slope is greater than 2's" is not a guarantee of understanding. It would be helpful to
have students model the behavior of the object represented by a variety of graphs. If you have an
ultrasonic motion detector, this is great fun.

Additional Information/Instructions

By Author/Submitter

 This resource could be valuable to teach speed and velocity for student taking physical
science at first time, also for a regular physics course at a beginning level.
 For first time teachers, this resource might guide you to a better understanding of speed
and velocity, analytically, and graphically.

SOURCE AND ACCESS INFORMATION

Contributed by: Rafael Suarez

Name of Author/Source: Rafael Suarez
District/Organization of Contributor(s): Miami-Dade
Is this Resource freely Available? Yes
License: CPALMS License - no distribution - non commercial

Related Standards

Name Description
Distinguish between scalar and vector quantities and assess
which should be used to describe an event.

Remarks/Examples:
Distinguish between vector quantities (e.g., displacement,
SC.912.P.12.1: velocity, acceleration, force, and linear momentum) and scalar
quantities (e.g., distance, speed, energy, mass, work).

MAFS.912.N-VM.1.3 (+) Solve problems involving velocity and

other quantities that can be represented by vectors.
 Analyze the motion of an object in terms of its position,
velocity, and acceleration (with respect to a frame of reference)
as functions of time.

Remarks/Examples:
Solve problems involving distance, velocity, speed, and
SC.912.P.12.2: acceleration. Create and interpret graphs of 1-dimensional
motion, such as position versus time, distance versus time,
speed versus time, velocity versus time, and acceleration
versus time where acceleration is constant.

Florida Standards Connections: MAFS.912.N-VM.1.3 (+) Solve

problems involving velocity and other quantities that can be
represented by vectors.

Recognize that time, length, and energy depend on the frame of

reference.
SC.912.P.12.9: Remarks/Examples:
The energy E and the momentum p depend on the frame of
reference in which they are measured (e.g. Lorentz contraction).

Determine the meaning of symbols, key terms, and other

domain-specific words and phrases as they are used in a specific
LAFS.910.RST.2.4:
scientific or technical context relevant to grades 9–10 texts and
topics.
Present information, findings, and supporting evidence clearly,
concisely, and logically such that listeners can follow the line of
LAFS.910.SL.2.4:
reasoning and the organization, development, substance, and
style are appropriate to purpose, audience, and task.
Use units as a way to understand problems and to guide the
solution of multi-step problems; choose and interpret units
MAFS.912.N-Q.1.1: consistently in formulas; choose and interpret the scale and the
origin in graphs and data displays. ★
Choose a level of accuracy appropriate to limitations on
MAFS.912.N-Q.1.3:
measurement when reporting quantities. ★