I'd like some input on why we traditionally teach kinematics first. I'm
just finishing up my kinematics section for this new school year.
Normally I don't do kinematics first. I usually begin with vectors and
then move into Newton's 1st & 3rd laws (generally with objects that are
in statics equilibrium) and then go o kinematics. The few times I've
tried to do the motion study first, I've frustrated me and my students.
They don't come to me as good problem solvers. Furthermore, even though
the ideas of speed and acceleration are "common" in that everybody
"knows" the words, the concepts are not easy for first year high school
physics students (11th & 12th graders). Also, I'm not sure how to
explain free fall (and projectiles) without 2nd law. So, I've generally
waited until a couple of months into the year before I begin to tackle
those topics.
But this year, after we bought brand new texts, I thought I'd follow
the traditional path once again. And now I'm grading a set of exams
that are les than good. So, my question is, why do the textbooks almost
all follow the same strategy. And does it work for you better than it
does for me? Just wondering. I know what I'm going to do next year.
Steve Clark, Ph.D.
The box said "Requires Windows 98 or better,"
so I bought a Macintosh.