Notes:
The Position-Time Graphs Concept Builder is an adjustable-size file that displays nicely on smart phones, on tablets such as the iPad, on Chromebooks, and on laptops and desktops. The size of the Concept Builder can be scaled to fit the device that it is displayed on. The compatibility with smart phones, iPads, other tablets, and Chromebooks make it a perfect tool for use in a 1:1 classroom.
Teaching Ideas and Suggestions:
This Concept Builder is intended for use in the earlier stages of a learning cycle on Kinematic Graphing. It makes for an exceptional formative assessment of student ability to numerically analyze a position-time graph. The emphasis is on reading coordinates to determine displacement or distance, calculating slope to determine velocity, and using slope and coordinate values to extrapolate beyond the range of the graph.
This Concept Builder was intended as an in-class activity. The Concept Builder includes 16 different situations, organized into three different activities. Teachers using the Concept Builder with their classes should preview the activity (or view the
Questions in the separate file) in order to judge which activities would be most appropriate for their students. Our summary of the three activities is as follows:
- Know Your D's: Includes four situations in which students use position coordinates to determine the distance or the displacement for a multi-stage motion..
- Know Your V: Includes four situations in which students must use a slope calculation to determine the velocity of an object.
- Know Your D, V, P, and T: Includes eight situations in which students must read coordinate values or use a slope calculation or extrapolate beyond the range of the graph in the process of analyzing the situation and answering a question. Questions are generally more complex in this activity.
In order to complete a level, a student must correctly analyze each situation at that level. If a student's analysis is incorrect, then the student will have to correctly analyze the same or very similar situation twice in order to successfully complete the level. This approach provides the student extra practice on situations for which they exhibited difficulty. As a student progresses through a level, a system of stars and other indicators are used to indicate progress on the level. A star is an indicator of correctly analyzing the situation. Once a star is earned, that situation is removed from the cue of situations to be analyzed. Each situation is color-coded with either a yellow or a red box. A red box indicates that the student has incorrectly analyzed the situation and will have to correctly analyze it twice before earning a star. A yellow box is an indicator that the situation must be correctly analyzed one time in order to earn a star. Once every situation at a level has been analyzed, the student earns a medal that is displayed on the Main Menu. This system of stars and medals allows a teacher to easily check-off student progress or offer credit for completing assigned levels.
The most valuable (and most overlooked) aspect of this concept-building activity is the Help Me! feature. Each question group is accompanied by a Help page that discusses the specifics of the question. This Help feature transforms the activity from a question-answering activity into a concept-building activity. The student who takes the time to use the Help pages can be transformed from a guesser to a learner and from an unsure student to a confident student. The "meat and potatoes" of the Help pages are in the sections titled "How to Think About This Situation:" Students need to be encouraged by teachers to use the Help Me! button and to read this section of the page. A student that takes time to reflect upon how they are answering the question and how an expert would think about the situation can transform their naivete into expertise.
Related Resources
There are numerous resources at The Physics Classroom website that serve as very complementary supports for the Position-Time Graphs Concept Builder. These include:
- Minds On Physics Internet Modules:
The Minds On Physics Internet Modules include a collection of interactive questioning modules that help learners assess their understanding of physics concepts and solidify those understandings by answering questions that require higher-order thinking. Assignments from the Kinematic Graphing module make for a great complement to this Concept Builder. They are best used in the middle to later stages of the learning cycle. Visit the Minds On Physics Internet Modules.
Users may find that the App version of Minds On Physics works best on their devices. The App Version can be found at the Minds On Physics the App section of our website. The Kinematic Graphing module can be found on Part 1 of the six-part App series. Visit Minds On Physics the App.
- Curriculum/Practice: Several Concept Development worksheets at the Curriculum Corner will be very useful in assisting students in cultivating their understanding, most notably ...
Describing Motion with Position-Time Graphs
Describing Motion Graphically
Graphing Summary
Visit the Curriculum Corner - Kinematics.
Additional resources and ideas for incorporating Position-Time Graphs into an instructional unit on Kinematics can be found at the
Teacher Toolkits section of The Physics Classroom website. Visit
Teacher Toolkits.