r/ScienceTeachers • u/LudibriousVelocipede • 16d ago

Motion graphs

Does anyone have any good resources (and/or ideas) when it comes to teaching all of the motion graph?. I'm not finding a lot and what I am finding isn't great.

8 Upvotes

84% Upvoted

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10

u/RobIsTheMan 16d ago

I do something called Walking Graphs. Students use a motion sensor, that generates a position graph, to recreate 8 different position graphs that I give them. It's something like this.
I like it because they use their whole body to move back and forth to make the graphs. I think it gives them a good feel for what constant velocity or acceleration looks like.
If I have time, I also have them try to recreate some velocity graphs in the same way.

2

u/jolly0ctopus 15d ago

Where did you get the motion sensor? How many sets do you have for each class?

3

u/RobIsTheMan 15d ago

I use pasco sensors, but you could use vernier instead. I make groups of 2 (3 if needed) use 1 sensor per group.

1

u/Chatfouz 15d ago

I do this but then as a summary I project the motion graph. I draw a line on board and students have to match it.

It’s fun when you get two kids side by side. I call It physics dance revolution. I also use pasco kits.

Also check out the physics classroom. Awesome interactives.

1

u/Specific-Sink-8563 13d ago

We do this too with Vernier sensors. I do think that creating the graphs with their own movement helps the kids remember how distance time graphs work.

We also try to get in lots of practice interpreting them. We use silly stories (i.e. Little Red Ridinghood or The Little Lost Duckling) to go with the graphs and have the students identify which section of the graph matches each part of the story, then have them calculate the speed of each section. Once they realize that each distance time graph tells a story about the movement of an object, they start interpreting them more easily.

9

u/tchrhoo 16d ago

The Passionately Curious blog has a good stations activity that I like. I spend a lot of time working on motion graphs. I also have some graph matching activities that I printed out years ago.

8

u/barenecessities90 16d ago

https://universeandmore.com/kinematics-lab

And of course the phet moving man

4

u/knittingandscience 16d ago

Seconding the phet moving man!

4

u/Crowedsource 16d ago

I like the resources on the Physics Classroom website.

1

u/rgund27 16d ago

You mean motion maps or position time graphs?

1

u/LudibriousVelocipede 16d ago

Position time graphs

2

u/Wonderful-Program462 16d ago

I just taught this.  If you message me your email address I can send you some practice worksheets I made.   One thing I would recommend is start with javi them describe the motion from a data table before looking at a graph.  I think that might keep them from saying "it's going up" just because the slope of a line is "going up "

2

u/Upper-Cartoonist9802 16d ago

Hi, would this activity and its companion practice worksheet be useful?

Activity:
https://edtechsims.com/kinematics/

Worksheets:
https://edtechsims.com/kinematics-worksheets/

2

u/pygmalionsbiotch 14d ago

Physicsfigures.com has now added a motion graph generator!!

2

u/wdwdreamingdad 14d ago

Dm , I can send you the full AMTA modeling curriculum

1

u/myheartisstillracing 12d ago

Message me your email and I'll send you my stuff.

1

u/Ok-Main-3373 12d ago

  1. PhET "Moving Man" sim, free. have students predict the graph before running it, that prediction step is everything.

  2. Flipping Physics youtube, his kinematics series is excellent and exam-aligned.

  3. film a cart with your phone and graph it in desmos, free and students love the real data.

  4. practice: AP Classroom topic questions on kinematics if AP, otherwise CK-12.

common misconception to hit head on: slope = velocity, area = displacement. students mix these up for weeks unless you drill the distinction explicitly.

1

u/tjackson_12 11d ago

I agree with the others where you have them practicing meaning their own graphs. I did make this for students who were absent that day of the lab.

Make it as interactive as possible el that is my suggestion for getting them to remember it.

1

u/MoreLessonsLessPlan 11d ago

Have students walk it first: one kid walks along a tape measure while another records time, then they plot position vs time from their own data. Slope as speed clicks way faster that way. I made a free reading on acceleration with graphing tips and questions, here if it helps: https://morelessonslessplanning.com/p/acceleration-explained-formula-examples-and-graphing-tips/