INQUIRY INTO PHYSICAL SCIENCE: A CONTEXTUAL APPROACH VOLUME 3: THE AUTOMOBILE: WILL THE GAS-DRIVEN AUTOMOBILE EVER BECOME A THING OF THE PAST?

The Automobile

Leading Question: Will the Gas-Driven Automobile Ever Become a Thing of the Past?

Chapter 1

Describing Motion: Kinematics

Preface-A Message to Tthe Student

1.1 Introduction

1.2 Changing Position-Distance vs. Displacement

1.2.1 Distance and Displacement

1.3 Time

1.4 How Fast Does the Position Change? Speed vs. Velocity

1.4.1 Uniform Motion

1.4.2 How Good Are Your Uniform Motion Predictive Powers?

1.4.3 Speed and Velocity

Making Connections: Position, Speed and Velocity

1.5 Representing Motion

1.5.1 How Can We Represent Motion?

1.5.2 Walk The Graph

Making Connections: Representing Motion

1.6 Motion With Changing VelocityAcceleration

1.6.1 Motion on an Incline-Acceleration

1.7 Graphical Analysis of Accelerated Motion

1.7.1 Graphical Analysis of Accelerated Motion

Making Connections: Accelerated Motion

Chapter 2

Describing Motion: Dynamics

2.1 Inertia

2.1.1 No Friction?...What If?--A "Gedanken" Experiment

Interactive Demonstrations- Inertia

2.2 What is Force?

2.2.1 "Forcing" an Object to Stay at Rest

2.3 Newton's First Law-The Law of Inertia

2.3.1 Newton's First Law

2.3.2 If Isaac Newton Worked for General Motors...

Making Connections: Inertia and Newton's First Law

2.4 Newton's Second Law

2.4.1 Newton's Second Law-Introduction

2.4.2 Newton's Second Law-Constant Mass

2.4.3 Newlon's Second Law-Constant Force

2.4.4 Newton's Second Law-"Net" Force is the Key

Making Connections: Newton's Second Law

2.5 Does it Matter How Long a Force Acts? Impulse and Momentum

2.5.1 Impulse and Momentum

2.5.2 Duration of a Force-Does it Matter?

2.5.3 Conservation of Momentum

Chapter 3

Making Our Car Move

3.1 Introduction

3.2 Combustion: The "Burning" Question Is ...What's In The Fuel?

3.2.1 A Look at Combustion ... By Candlelight

3.2.2 Heat of Combustion

Making Connections: The Energy Content of Fuels

3.3 Electric Current and Electric Circuits

3.3.1 Lighting a Bulb

3.3.2 Electric Circuits

Making Connections: Electric Circuits (I)

3.3.3 A Model for Electric Current

3.3.4 Circuits With More Than One Bulb

Making Connections: Electric Circuits (II)

3.4 Voltage-Electric Charges Need a Push

3.4.1 Circuits With More Than One Battery

Making Connections: Voltage, Energy, & Multiple Battery Circuits

3.5 The Battery-An Electrochemical Pump

3.5.1 Electrochemical Cells- Batteries By The Cupful

3.5.2 (At-Home Activity)-Making A "Citrus" Battery

3.5.3 Looking Inside A Battery- Without a Flashlight

Making Connections: Electrochemical Cells

3.6 Electromagnetism

3.6.1 The Compass Needle Galvanometer

3.6.2 Making an Electric Motor

3.6.3 Making a Solenoid Electromagnet

3.6.4 A Drinking Straw Magnet

3.6.5 Induced Current & The Electric Generator

Making Connections: Electromagnetism

3.7 Putting it All Together- Will the Gas-Driven Automobile Ever Become a Thing of the Past?

Stating the Need-The Pollution-Free Automobile

Making Connections: Air Pollution

Electric Vehicles

Hybrid Vehicles

Making Connections: Electric and Hybrid Cars

Fuel Cells

Making Connections: The Fuel Cell

Making Connections: Chapter Overview

Appendix 1: "Underpinnings"

1.1  Fundamental vs. Derived Properties

1.2  Units

1.3  Area

1.4  Volume

1.4.1  Measuring Volume

Making Connections:  Area and Volume

1.5  Ratios

1.6  Density

1.6.1  Understanding Density

1.7  Exponential Notation

Making Connections:  The Arithmetic of Exponential Numbers

1.8  Straight Line Graphs

1.8.1  Graph­i­cal Anal­y­sis of Mass vs. Vol­ume

1.9  Curved Graphs

1.9.1  Height of Liq­uid in a Con­tain­er vs. Vol­ume

Making Connections:  Density and Graphical Analysis

1.10  Let's Keep Things in Proportion

1.10.1  Understanding Proportions

Appendix 2: "Energy"

2.1  The "Money" of Nature

2.2  Storage, Transfer, and Transformation of Energy