ACTIVE PHYSICS LESSON PLAN

BY

BABATUNDE ORONTI.

CLASS: 9th Grade.

TIME REQUIRED: 2 weeks

THEME: Measurement.

OBJECTIVES:
1.)Students will be able to measure heights, distances and lengths.
2.)Students will appreciate the importance of accuracy in measurements.
3.) Students will discover the relationship between indirect measurement and concepts like probability and prediction.
4.)Students will research into the life of Erathosthenes with particular focus on his method of determining the cricumference of the earth using indirect measurement approach.

MATERIALS:

  • Meter Stick.
  • One Foot Ruler.
  • Different Objects to be measured.
  • Computers. (with access to the internet)
  • Graphing Calculators.
  • Pennies.
  • Construction Papers.
  • Compass.

    PROCEDURE: (For day 1)
    TOPIC: Calibration.

    1.) Brainstorm on two key words {Indirect and Measurements}
    2.) Select the objects to be maesured.
    3.) Measure the length of your strides (or whatever you want to use for your calibration)
    4.) Record your measurement in your log or notebook.
    5.) Count off the number of strides it takes to cover a selected distance and record your findings.
    6.) Use the number of strides and the length of each stride to calculate the length etc.
    7.) List the result obtained by the whole class and find the average.
    8.) Take an accurate measurement with a meter stick etc. and compare the results.
    9.) Record in your log or notebook 3 possible sources of error that may account for the discrepancies in the 2 types of measurement techniques.

    PROCEDURE: (For day 2)

    TOPIC: Area Of A Penny.

    PROCEDURE: (For days 3-7)

  • Accurate measurement.
  • Indirect volume measurement
  • Measuring Volume with the metric system.
  • Indirect mass measurement.
  • Determining mass with the metric system.

    PROCEDURE: (For day 8)

    TOPIC: Earth's Circumference I.

    OBJECTIVE: The goal of this project is to gather and share data required to calculate the circumference of the earth using a method similar to the one that Eratosthenes used.

    1.) Brainstorm on the word "Circumference".
    2.) Give instructions on the theoretical background of what Eratosthenes did. That is tapping into their knowledge of Geometry and linking it to the ancient Greek way.

    Borrowed from "Measure the earth collaborative project".

    3.) Get all the necessary materials needed to measure the ray of the sun's angle of incidence.

    PROCEDURE: (For day 9)

    TOPIC: Earth's Circumference.

    OBJECTIVE: Same as for day 3.

    1.) Measure the Earth
    2.)Gather all the necessary data.
    3.) Analyse the data and solve the problem.
    4.) Compare results with other schools through e-mail.

    PROCEDURE: (For day 10)

    ASSESSMENTS:

  • Potfolio on Students' work.
  • Worksheet on problem solving.
  • Biweeky test.
  • Group Presentation of Erathosthenes method for determining the circumference of te earth.

    RELEVANCE TO CURRICULUM FRAMEWORKS.

    PHYSICAL SETTING AND LIVING ENVIRONMENT.

  • Bridges to Math and Technical World.
  • Historical Perspectives.