Chapter 2. Review and Practice, Part 1

Study Tip. Reading a science text for understanding isn't easy, but there are strategies that you should use to enhance your understanding of the material. Some of these have been mentioned before. For example, take notes on important ideas and on questions that you want to ask in the Lab and Problem forum. Here are some others.

  1. Tables usually list information that will be useful in solving problems. Don't overlook them.

  2. Go through the equations step-by-step. Make sure you know what the symbols mean. Do your best to understand how the author moves from one equation to the next.

  3. Examine the diagrams and graphs to make sure you understand what information they convey.

  4. Study the Exercises included with some of the sections. These are basic problems that use the material presented in the section.

  5. Likewise, study the Example Problems. These are your guides to solving problems. They're more important than in a regular classroom, because in an online course, the teacher won't be doing example problems at the board.

Do the following to begin your study of Chapter 2.

 Step 1

Reading Assignment -- Chapter 2.  As you read, remember that the textbook is your primary resource. It must take the place of a teacher standing in front of the class. If you're used to classes where the teacher lectures on the important points of the reading and does example problems, it doesn't work that way in an online course. You have to take greater responsibility for your own learning.

For assignment E.2.1 below, you'll need to have read through section 3 of Chapter 2. If you don't have a textbook yet, use this scan of Ch. 2.

Review the chapter objectives so that you'll know what the teacher expects you to learn from the chapter.

Chapter 2 Objectives

  1. know the difference between distance and displacement.
  2. know the difference between speed and velocity.
  3. know the difference between velocity and acceleration.
  4. be able to define acceleration and give examples of both positive and negative acceleration.
  5. be able to calculate displacements, velocities, and accelerations using the equations of one-dimensional motion.
  6. be able to interpret x-versus-t and v-versus-t plots for both motion with constant velocity and constant acceleration.
  7. be able to describe and solve problems involving the motion of freely falling objects.

Aids for Independent Study

These are the same kinds of study aids that you used for Chapter 1 (Chapter Review, Practice Questions, and Practice Problems). However, we won't have you complete each one consecutively this time, since we're going to take the material in smaller chunks. We'll also do some other things along the way.

 Step 2

  E.2.1.  Chapter 2 Study Assignment, Part 1

  1. Click here to open a set of review pages in a new window.

  2. Study only the first page of the review (Sections 2-1 to 2-3). Be sure to do the Physlets. (This requires Java.) It's like having a lab on your computer, because you have to take measurements. It's up to you to figure out what to measure. Remember that you have to click on the word, illustration, in the problem description in order to initialize an applet.

  3. Click here to open the set of Practice Questions. For now, do Questions 1-5 only. This will give you practice in reading position vs. time graphs for objects moving at constant velocity. You won't submit your answers to these questions. They're preparation for an upcoming assignment.

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