The Law of Conservation of Momentum is one of the most fundamental principles in physics. It can be used to predict what will happen when two or more objects in a system collide or explode. It applies to any isolated interaction between objects, regardless of whether or not kinetic energy is conserved. It is even plausible to speculate that the total momentum in the universe remains constant.
Activities and problem solving should be emphasized in this unit.
In this unit students will increase their abilities to:
Experience an improvement in problem solving ability through regular practice.
Explain commonly experienced physical phenomena
.
Demonstrate an understanding of cause and effect.
Demonstrate effective communication through reading, writing, speaking, and listening.
Give examples which illustrate how scientific and technological developments often occur in response to social needs.
Judge the importance and relevance of ideas to a topic.
Apply independent learning skills to a wide variety of tasks.
Explain relationships that exist between different things.
Reduce complex problems into smaller, more manageable components.
Support the development of a positive disposition to life-long learning. (IL)
Use a wide range of possibilities for developing their knowledge of the major concepts within physics. (COM)
Develop an understanding of how knowledge is obtained, evaluated, refined and changed within physics. (CCT)
Strengthen their knowledge and understanding of how to compute, measure, estimate and interpret mathematical data, when to apply these skills and techniques, and why these processes apply within the particular framework of physics. (NUM)