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Module Description
Requirements
Objectives
Introduction
Featured Facts
Activites and Procedures
References and Resources
Teaching Strategies
Thought Provoking Questions
Assessment Techniques
Standards Addressed |
Determining the mode of transportation from a table of position and time
data is not an easy proposition. Examination of the data table can
give some clues to the mode, but will often not rule out all but one mode.
In order to narrow the possibilities down to one mode, the students need
to be able to manipulate the data, graph the data, analyze and interpret
the results. This requires an understanding of the kinematics ideas
of position, velocity and acceleration, skills to use Excel for data manipulation,
and skills in pattern recognition. The kinematics portion of the typical
high school mechanics curriculum would provide the necessary content understanding.
The module expects that this content would be learned after introducing the
inital problem. The basic Excel speadsheet skills are developed during
the module with imbedded activities. With the content knowledge and
the Excel skills, the students are then able to complete the analysis of
the data initially presented to determine the mode of transportation.
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