Inclusive and Relatable Physics Practice Problems

So you can feel like you belong in physics

Practice Problems

One trip at constant/average velocity v = ∆x/∆t

 

Sofia hates her braces, but her orthodontist is pleased that one of Sofia’s molars has moved straight forward 1.2 mm since her last appointment 29 days ago. What was the average velocity (in SI units) of the tooth during that time?

written by Allison Boley

 

       

 

About

Hello and welcome to a preview of our Inclusive and Relatable Physics Practice Problem website!

I'm Allison Boley, an Associate Teaching Professor here at ASU, and when I was an introductory student, I noticed how little of my physics homework seemed to be written with someone like me in mind. I felt like I didn't belong in this environment with so much attention on the physics of cars, sports, traditionally masculine chores, and violence.

My personal feelings aside, I recognized that such an unnecessarily narrow focus also limits students' exposure to the endless applications of physics.

When I got my own classroom in 2015, I started writing all my own problems. The longer I taught, the more I learned how to write problems that related not only to my everyday life, but also to my students' lives. Over the years, I wrote about the periodic motion of rocking a baby to sleep, the distance and displacement of a drumstick hitting a snare drum, the force to push a sibling across the carpet in a laundry basket, and more.

But it's not enough. I'm one person with one set of identities and one set of experiences. To truly construct a relatable problem set, we need a team.

That's the plan here. With a bit of seed funding, a core team of Assistant Teaching Professor Julia Doelger, five physics students, and me are writing problems from our own lived experiences and observations. Other ASU physics students are contributing a problem or two of their own as volunteers.

We want everyone to feel like they belong here. That doesn't mean every problem will relate to your life. It means we want you to see yourself and your life reflected in some problems, and to expand your curiosity and understanding of physics by seeing other people and their lives reflected in other problems.

In time, this website will offer hundreds of problems across many areas of introductory physics. For now, please enjoy this preview of twelve problems using the equation v=∆x/∆t

Our Team

Notation

One-Dimensional Kinematics

t - time
Δt - change in time
xi or yi - initial position
xf or yf - final position
Δx or Δy - distance/displacement
∆xdist - distance

xdisp or x - displacement (when distance and displacement are present in the same problem, bold indicates displacement)

v - speed/velocity
vi - initial speed/velocity
vf - final speed/velocity
vavg - average speed/velocity
Δv - change in speed/velocity
vavg - average velocity (when both speed and velocity are present in the same problem, bold indicates velocity)
a - acceleration
g - acceleration of gravity