OpenSciEd Unit 8.1 · Lesson 08 · 8.A
Model other force interactions
From Teacher Edition
Facilitation guidance from the lesson plan — what to notice in student thinking and how to respond while teaching.
Building towards
8.A Develop and use a model to identify other parts of the system the cart and box are making contact with or colliding into that could be producing contact forces on these subsystems, causing energy to be transferred to or from them as the box and cart travel down the track.
What to look / listen for
See Key for modeling force interactions in the launcher, cart, box, and track system for guidance on what to look for.
What to do
Treat this as an informal assessment of prior knowledge related to how forces from friction and air resistance act on moving objects. Do not correct preconceptions at this point. Make a copy of student responses on Modeling other force interactions in the launcher, cart, box, and track system so you can return the original to students to revise at the end of the next lesson (Lesson 9) as a home-learning assignment. This will provide you a reference to compare student thinking before Lesson 9 to what they are thinking by the end of Lesson 9.