About

For Teachers

Credits

Title: "Tracker 5/6 Increasing Accelerating Car: Using Model Builder to Simplify Graphs for Secondary School"

This document examines the motion of a car with increasing acceleration using Tracker software and its Model Builder tool. The goal is to create simplified graphs that illustrate complex kinematic concepts for secondary school students.

Study Guide:

Objective:

• Analyze the motion of a car with increasing acceleration.
• Use Model Builder to construct and simplify graphical representations for educational purposes.

Key Concepts:

1. Non-Uniform Acceleration:

   • Acceleration increases over time, resulting in progressively faster changes in velocity.

2. Key Graphs:

   • Displacement vs. Time: Exponential curve representing rapidly increasing distance.
   • Velocity vs. Time: Upwardly curving line due to increasing acceleration.
   • Acceleration vs. Time: A line with a positive slope indicating growing acceleration.

3. Model Builder:

   • A Tracker tool that generates theoretical models to compare with experimental data, simplifying complex motion for students.

Experiment Overview:

• Setup:
  Record a video of a car undergoing increasing acceleration on a flat, friction-controlled surface, ensuring steady tracking and consistent lighting.

• Procedure:

  1. Import the video into Tracker and analyze the car's position over time.
  2. Extract data for displacement, velocity, and acceleration.
  3. Use Model Builder to create a theoretical model with increasing acceleration.
  4. Compare the theoretical model with the experimental data.
  5. Simplify the graphs for instructional purposes.

• Observation Points:

  • Exponential growth in the displacement graph due to rapidly increasing speed.
  • Non-linear velocity graph showing accelerated growth.
  • Positive-slope acceleration graph indicating increasing force or power.

Questions to Consider:

1. What factors cause increasing acceleration in the car?

   • Answer: Gradually increasing engine power or reducing opposing forces (e.g., friction).

2. Why is the displacement graph exponential?

   • Answer: The car covers larger distances in shorter intervals as it speeds up faster over time.

3. How does the velocity graph reflect non-uniform acceleration?

   • Answer: Its upward curvature indicates faster velocity changes over time.

4. What does the slope of the acceleration graph represent?

   • Answer: The rate of increase in acceleration due to growing force.

5. How does Model Builder assist in understanding increasing acceleration?

   • Answer: It provides theoretical trends to clarify experimental observations, making them accessible to students.

Applications:

• Physics Education: Simplifies complex kinematic behaviors for classroom understanding.
• Engineering Insights: Offers foundational knowledge for vehicle performance analysis.
• Graph Interpretation: Builds skills in analyzing and comparing theoretical and experimental data.

ICT Connection Lesson 

http://library.opal.moe.edu.sg/ictc&func=view&rid=2094

http://library.opal.moe.edu.sg/ictc&func=view&rid=2094

using Tracker Model Builder to create theoretic graphs for simplifying Physics concepts. increasing position x^3 motion is illustrated through position x versus time graph

using Tracker Model Builder to create theoretic graphs for simplifying Physics concepts. increasing velocity vx^2 motion is illustrated through position vx versus time graph

using Tracker Model Builder to create theoretic graphs for simplifying Physics concepts. increasing acceleration ax^1 motion is illustrated through position ax versus time graph

FAQ:

1. Why does the car accelerate at an increasing rate?

   • The increasing force applied to the car overcomes inertia more effectively over time.

2. How can Model Builder accommodate increasing acceleration?

   • It allows input of variable forces or equations to simulate realistic motion trends.

3. What real-world examples parallel this experiment?

   • Rocket launches, vehicles under turbo boost, or objects on decreasingly resistive surfaces.

4. What challenges might arise in tracking increasing acceleration?

   • Maintaining precise measurements at high speeds and accounting for external influences like drag.

5. How can this study be expanded?

   • Explore the effects of varying mass, introduce drag forces, or study acceleration limits in different scenarios.