We begin the course with a series of several assignments in which we study motion, and especially uniformly accelerated motion.  You will learn to reason out relationships among the initial and final velocity on an interval, the displacement acceleration on that interval, and the time duration of the interval for a uniformly accelerated object, using the definitions of velocity and acceleration.  You will learn to symbolize these relationships and to represent them graphically.  You will derive and apply a set of equations which can be used to analyze motion without understanding it, which can be a useful skill.  Students whose background includes calculus will develop equations with which to derive relationships among position, velocity and acceleration functions.

We will also begin to develop the ability to conduct experiments designed to test the validity of our definitions and the framework through which we understand and predict the behavior of the physical world.  This will entail the ability to make accurate observations, control for extraneous variables, assess the degree of uncertainty of our conclusions and interpret our results.

Assignment 0

In Assignment 0 you will in the Introductory Problem Set problems master the reasoning associated with average velocity, time interval and displacement.

You will also conduct a simple experiment using the TIMER program and answer questions related to your results.

You are asked to read specified problems in your text (and are expected to digest the associated text material), and also to complete a q_a exercise on rates. 

Together these tasks will provide you with the information required to achieve the Objectives associated with this assignment, as listed in the Assignments Table. 

You will be asked to do a quick read-through of some problems in the first chapter in your text.  These problems are immediately relevant to your other activities, and you will in subsequent assignments be asked to solve these problems.  It is considered implicit that you will also read the portions of the chapter relevant to the problems.

The query exercise at the end of the assignment, along with the other documents submitted with this assignment, will provide your instructor with a good idea of what you have accomplished, and will give give the instructor an opportunity to provide you with feedback.

Your documents will be posted at your 'access site'.

What you should know when you begin this assignment:

At this point you should know:

• how to access your assignments
• how to complete a document in question-answer-self-critique format
• how to submit a document
• how to access the instructor's posted responses to your document
• how to use and read typewriter notation interpreted with strict order of operations
• where to find information on course materials, testing, and other aspects of the course
• how to submit questions using the Submit Question Form
• how to navigate the menu on your homepage

What you should be developing

• Ability to communicate and to learn using the question-answer-self-critique process.
• Ability to make accurate observations of physical systems and report those observations in a specified format.
• Ability to estimate and quantify uncertainties in observations.
• Ability to analyze data and communicate how the analysis was done.

What you will learn

• Relationships among displacement, time interval and average velocity.
• Development of velocity with respect to clock time.
• Distinction between clock time and time interval.
• Relationship between frequency and period.
• Use of units.

What you will begin wrestling with

• Interpretation of graphs.
• Inferences from graphs.
• Precision and accuracy of observations.
• Quantifying and relating uncertainties.
• Dimensional analysis, algebra of units.
• The concept and use of rates.