Momentum as a Maintaining Agency: A Different Approach to Teaching Force

• Jarier Wannous ^[1] ; Peter Horváth ^[1]
  1. [1] Comenius University

     Comenius University

     Eslovaquia

     
• Localización: The Physics Teacher, ISSN 0031-921X, Vol. 57, Nº. 6, 2019, págs. 373-375
• Idioma: inglés
• Texto completo no disponible (Saber más ...)
• Resumen

  • A power supply is needed to maintain the function of a computer, heat is needed to keep food from cooling down, and a force is needed to maintain motion. Those are notions that seem very natural to many people as they are based on everyday experiences. However, when it comes to motion, it is not force that maintains motion but momentum. Students in our classrooms are often introduced first to force and to its affects, and later they learn about momentum. This paper discusses a different approach from a phenomenological primitives (p-prims) perspective, where we start with momentum and only then continue with force. The reasons for this change are discussed as well as a brief description of the proposed approach.