MAKING SENSE OF THE PHYSICAL WORLD: LEVEL 5
ACHIEVEMENT OBJECTIVES
Students can
- carry out practical investigations, with effective
control of variables, into common physical phenomena, and relate
their findings to scientific theories, e.g., force and acceleration,
insulation, heat capacity of different materials;
- demonstrate an understanding of the applications
of energy and its transfer and transformation, e.g., heat transfer,
kinetic and potential energy;
- investigate and establish patterns in physical
phenomena and make useful predictions, e.g., voltage and current,
braking distances under different circumstances, heat retention
of various materials, heat and temperature change, food requirements
and body shape of animals;
- investigate and report on how physical principles
are used in some common household appliances, e.g., a sewing
machine, refrigerator, cake mixer, lawn mower, transistor radio,
'walkman'.
|
Note: By the
end of year 11 (form 5), students should have had learning experiences
with the formation of images, forms of energy, heat transfer, balanced
and unbalanced forces, motion, and simple electrical circuits.
They should
be starting to use the language of physicists, including the terms:
mass, weight, momentum, acceleration, velocity, force, work, power,
voltage, current, and resistance.
SAMPLE LEARNING CONTEXTS
- Lighting systems
- Cycling
- Local industry
- New Zealand's power supply Skindiving
- Transport
- Waiora
- Simple technology in the home and school Stereos
- Aniwaniwa
POSSIBLE LEARNING EXPERIENCES
Students could be learning by:
- designing a 'fair test' on the insulating
properties of neoprene material used in wetsuit design;
- setting up appropriate circuits to measure voltage
and current through a variety of conductors (resistors, lamps, diodes)
and graphing and interpreting the collected data;
- performing experiments to find the braking distance
of a bicycle on a variety of surfaces, and relating these results to
the energy transformations involved;
- working as part of a group to produce a presentation
to peers on the wave nature of sound;
- preparing an article for a local newspaper explaining appropriate
clothing for farmers and others who might have to defend their homes
against comparing these with the values indicated by the colour codes
of the resistors being used;stigating which kind of stones
have the best heat retention when building a hangi;
- calculating the power output of a class member during
experiments involving press-ups, sit-ups, and running up stairs;
- carrying out a research project on the working of a
television;
- drawing a chart showing how a sewing machine makes
a zig-zag stitch.
ASSESSMENT EXAMPLES
Teachers and students could assess the students':
- ability to co-operatively plan a 'fair test',
when the students, in a small group, design an experiment to investigate
heat losses from different coloured surfaces;
- knowledge of the behaviour of sound, when the students
explain how astronauts can communicate on the moon;
- ability to identify relevant factors of heat insulation,
when the students describe the construction of a thermos flask;
- ability to describe the relationship between recorded
readings, when the students work in groups to analyse the voltage
and current values obtained for a resistor;
- ability to mathematically interpret data, when the
students perform calculations on personal power output from running
up stairs;
- ability to plan methods of observation, when they
suggest ways of making it easier to see how household appliances operate;
- understanding of the design and use of a thermostat,
when the students answer written questions.
| |
