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published by the University of Delaware School of Education
edited by Barbara Duch
This item is an experiential learning activity for high school students on the topic of force interactions, inertia in motion, and collisions.  It is part of the Problem-Based Learning (PBL) library at the University of Delaware.  The purpose of PBL is to present a real-life situation and challenge students to sift given information to solve the problem.  In this case, the users apply concepts of acceleration, Newton's First Law, and Newton's Second Law to determine who is at fault in an accident.  PBL consists of three fundamental steps:  1) gather relevant information, 2) Work in groups to summarize and form a strategy, and 3) Generate new facts and perform operations to solve the problem.

SEE RELATED ITEMS BELOW for a link to the home page for this collection, which includes articles relating to PBL research, the national PBL Clearinghouse, and tips for using PBL in  introductory physics, biology, and chemistry classrooms.
Subjects Levels Resource Types
Classical Mechanics
- Applications of Newton's Laws
- Newton's First Law
- Newton's Second Law
= Interacting Objects
Education Foundations
- Cognition
= Cognition Development
Education Practices
- Active Learning
= Problem Solving
- High School
- Lower Undergraduate
- Informal Education
- Instructional Material
= Activity
= Best practice
= Instructor Guide/Manual
= Student Guide
Appropriate Courses Categories Ratings
- Physics First
- Conceptual Physics
- Algebra-based Physics
- AP Physics
- Activity
- New teachers
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Intended Users:
Learner
Educator
General Public
Formats:
text/html
application/zip
Access Rights:
Free access
Restriction:
© 1999 University of Delaware School of Education
Keywords:
PBL, acceleration, collisions, collisions, conservation of momentum, cooperative learning, elastic collisions, experiential learning, inertia, problem based learning, problem solving, student-centered curriculum
Record Cloner:
Metadata instance created January 2, 2009 by Caroline Hall
Record Updated:
February 4, 2022 by Bruce Mason
Last Update
when Cataloged:
March 14, 2008
Other Collections:

What is the answer>

Author: Patrick Darby
Posted: October 6, 2011 at 6:21PM

Is the solution to this written somewhere?

» reply

Post a new comment on this item

This resource is part of a Physics Front Topical Unit.


Topic: Dynamics: Forces and Motion
Unit Title: Newton's First Law & Inertia

Great classroom activity to get students thinking about the Law of Inertia, force interactions, and conservation of momentum as they solve a real-life problem to determine which driver is at fault in a car accident.  See link below under Content Support to read more about the pedagogy behind Problem-Based Learning.

Link to Unit:
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Record Link
AIP Format
, edited by B. Duch (University of Delaware School of Education, Newark, 1999), WWW Document, (https://www.itue.udel.edu/pbl/Lists/PBL/Attachments/15/A%20Day%20In%20The%20Life%20Of%20John%20Henry%2c%20Traffic%20Cop.zip).
AJP/PRST-PER
University of Delaware Problem Based Learning: A Day in the Life of John Henry, a Traffic Cop, edited by B. Duch (University of Delaware School of Education, Newark, 1999), <https://www.itue.udel.edu/pbl/Lists/PBL/Attachments/15/A%20Day%20In%20The%20Life%20Of%20John%20Henry%2c%20Traffic%20Cop.zip>.
APA Format
Duch, B. (Ed.). (2008, March 14). University of Delaware Problem Based Learning: A Day in the Life of John Henry, a Traffic Cop. Retrieved November 13, 2024, from University of Delaware School of Education: https://www.itue.udel.edu/pbl/Lists/PBL/Attachments/15/A%20Day%20In%20The%20Life%20Of%20John%20Henry%2c%20Traffic%20Cop.zip
Chicago Format
Duch, Barbara, ed. University of Delaware Problem Based Learning: A Day in the Life of John Henry, a Traffic Cop. Newark: University of Delaware School of Education, March 14, 2008. https://www.itue.udel.edu/pbl/Lists/PBL/Attachments/15/A%20Day%20In%20The%20Life%20Of%20John%20Henry%2c%20Traffic%20Cop.zip (accessed 13 November 2024).
MLA Format
Duch, Barbara, ed. University of Delaware Problem Based Learning: A Day in the Life of John Henry, a Traffic Cop. Newark: University of Delaware School of Education, 1999. 14 Mar. 2008. 13 Nov. 2024 <https://www.itue.udel.edu/pbl/Lists/PBL/Attachments/15/A%20Day%20In%20The%20Life%20Of%20John%20Henry%2c%20Traffic%20Cop.zip>.
BibTeX Export Format
@misc{ Title = {University of Delaware Problem Based Learning: A Day in the Life of John Henry, a Traffic Cop}, Publisher = {University of Delaware School of Education}, Volume = {2024}, Number = {13 November 2024}, Month = {March 14, 2008}, Year = {1999} }
Refer Export Format

%A Barbara Duch, (ed) %T University of Delaware Problem Based Learning: A Day in the Life of John Henry, a Traffic Cop %D March 14, 2008 %I University of Delaware School of Education %C Newark %U https://www.itue.udel.edu/pbl/Lists/PBL/Attachments/15/A%20Day%20In%20The%20Life%20Of%20John%20Henry%2c%20Traffic%20Cop.zip %O text/html

EndNote Export Format

%0 Electronic Source %D March 14, 2008 %T University of Delaware Problem Based Learning: A Day in the Life of John Henry, a Traffic Cop %E Duch, Barbara %I University of Delaware School of Education %V 2024 %N 13 November 2024 %8 March 14, 2008 %9 text/html %U https://www.itue.udel.edu/pbl/Lists/PBL/Attachments/15/A%20Day%20In%20The%20Life%20Of%20John%20Henry%2c%20Traffic%20Cop.zip


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University of Delaware Problem Based Learning: A Day in the Life of John Henry, a Traffic Cop:

Is Part Of Problem Based Learning @ University of Delaware

This is the home page of the University of Delaware's Problem-Based Learning website.  Included are activities for students, research on PBL, and related pedagogical background.

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