Crushing a can with air pressure and heat.
Learning Objectives
One of Project BoxSand's goals is to close-the-loop on effective curriculum reform iterations. We are coding all the content and resources, every text, video, and homework question, to a set of atomistic learning objectives. As students go through the course we can see how their path through resources relates to successfully completing these learning objectives. This allows us to find the most effective resources for accomplishing the desired learning outcomes.
Summary
The goal is to become familiar with the characteristics of vectors in multiple representations and use them for the appropriate physical quantities. Specifically, students need to be able to use physical and mathematical representation to perform vector operations such as scalar multiplication, addition, subtraction.
Atomistic Goals
Students will be able to...
1. Demonstrate the ability to characterize materials based off of their density.
2. Introduce the approximation of incompressible fluids.
3. Introduce the macroscopic definition of pressure.
4. Differentiate between atmospheric pressure, gauge pressure, and total pressure.
5. Construct FBDs which include an associated net force due to a pressure gradient.
Pre-lecture | Familiarize Stage
The success of this curriculum relies heavily on preparing for lecture by engaging with the pre-lecture study resources below. The pre-lecture videos and homework have the strongest correlation with success, followed by the reading. More engagement with all of the resources is correlated with better performance in the course. Students who do the pre-lecture study and homework also report much greater satisfaction with the course. Routine is the heavy lifter of success!
Reading
To prepare for the pre-lecture homework and the lecture material, read the following OpenStax textbook chapters, BoxSand introductions, or other linked articles.
Consider comparing the differences between gold and Styrofoam (polystyrene foam). Perhaps you wish to compare the weight of two materials. Well, you can obtain one pound of gold and one pound of Styrofoam, so perhaps weight is not a good quantity when trying to compare the two materials. But now that you have a pound of each material, you notice that pound of gold takes up much less volume than the pound of Styrofoam. Cleverly, you define a new quantity called mass density, which is the mass per unit volume of each material. Mathematically this is written as…
$\rho = \frac{m}{V}$
It turns out, that the density is a material property. One pound of gold has the same density 2 pounds, 1,000 pounds, 1/100th of a pound, etc..
We must be a little bit more careful though. Consider water, if we place a container of water under enough pressure, we can slightly change the density. Likewise, if we change the temperature of a container of water, the density also slightly changes. Thus, the density of any material is dependent on temperature and pressure. However, for solids and liquids, the density is very nearly constant for a wide range of temperatures and pressure, thus throughout our fluid mechanics studies, we will ignore these small density variations due to temperature and pressure changes. Another way to state this approximation is to say that we will assume fluids are incompressible (i.e. their densities are constant for any temperature or pressure).
This section from the Openstax text covers pressure.
Pascal's Principle is covered in this section of Openstax
Videos
To prepare for the pre-lecture homework and lecture materials, watch the following required videos. Research shows that taking notes by hand is the preferable method for retention. For this reason these videos are paced so that you can write down everything we write down. There are also supplementary videos that are strongly suggested but could be viewed after lecture while working on practice problems. Watching all of these videos is shown to be one of the strongest correlators with success in this course.
| Required Pre-lecture Videos |
| Supplemental but Suggested |
What is a fluid(4min) **
definitions, pressure, density(2min) **
definitions, pressure, density(2min) **
Atmosphere ... needs density gradient explanation with thermo..... (5min) **
Atmosphere ... needs density gradient explanation with thermo..... (5min) **
hydrostatic pressure(8min)
hydrostatic pressure simple example(3min) **
hydrostatic pressure simple example(3min) **
hydrostatic pressure and Pascal(3min)
hydrostatic pressure and Pascal(3min)
barometer(4min) **
hydrostatic pressure example two separate fluids(3min) **
hydrostatic pressure example two separate fluids(3min) **
gauge pressure(2min) **
Simulations
Use the Colorado PhET pressure simulation below to learn more about how pressure works.
Other Suggested Resources
Pre-lecture Homework
Complete the following assignment before attending lecture or answering the lecture questions. Watching the videos and performing the suggested reading before attempting these questions will likely be necessary.
Pre-lecture Homework | Calendar
Lecture | Foundation Stage
In order to maximize efficiency while learning physics, education research has suggested a Flipped Classroom approach with multiple Guided Peer Learning (GPL) lectures a week. To get the most out of these events students need to front load the lecture with pre-lecture study, outlined above. Attending a live lecture is highly preferred but if you're unable to, there is an asynchronous alternative. During lecture it is important to either use a digital version with a tablet and pen, or print a copy to write on. If the live lectures feel too fast, read through each lecture question and prepare before class begins. Many questions will be skipped due to time constraints, it is a good study strategy to come back and try to answer those questions.
Lecture Templates
The blank template workbook is provided so that you do not have to write down the questions or redraw complicated figures.
Lecture Template | Calendar
Lecture Solutions
The completed templates will be available within one week of the last lecture class. It is an important metacognative step to review the questions you've answered that we were unable to cover in class.
Lecture Solutions | Calendar
Post-lecture | Practice Stage
The most important post-lecture activity is doing your post-lecture homework shortly after completing the lecture questions. You learn physics by practicing problems! Occasionally there may be additional resources on the BoxSand site that we feel could be helpful in your learning. Those resources will be linked here.
Reading
1. none
Videos
1. none
Simulations
1. none
Other Suggested Resources
1. none
Example Problems and Practice
There are additional practice problems you can work for credit | Calendar
Post-lecture Homework
Complete the post-lecture homework assignment as soon as possible after completing the lecture questions. If you need help, and you've already watched the pre-lecture videos and read the pre-lecture readings, reach out to one of our many support systems available here: support site.
Post-lecture Homework | Calendar
Challenge Homework | Mastery Stage
One of the main learning objectives is improving problem solving and critical thinking skills. These are high on Bloom's Taxonomy of thinking and require synthesizing multiple logical ideas and concepts into a consistent framework. To improve these skills requires continually pushing the envelope on what you can analyze. Challenge homework is designed to push you, often to the point of reaching out for help. Luckily we are ready to support you with our live and asynchronous support. The last objective of challenge homework is for you to write out your solutions clearly, have them graded by a human, and partial credit given. Exams are all about partial credit and a clearly organized solution that leads the reader through the logical pieces. Challenge homework is place to practice these steps. For more help on any studies or homework, see our support site.
Your challenge homework solutions are to be saved as a PDF and uploaded to Gradescope.
Challenge Homework Questions
Download the questions below and either answer them digitally with your tablet and pen or by hand.
Challenge Homework Questions can be found on the calendar.
Challenge Homework Solutions
Challenge homework solutions will be available within one week of their due date.
Challenge Homework Solutions | Calendar