Skip to Content Go to sign in Skip to Primary Navigation Skip to Secondary Navigation Skip to Page Navigation Skip to Header Navigation Skip to Footer Navigation Read more about accessability options and our navigation

Physics Classroom is making strides to make our site accessible to everyone. Our site contains 6 navigation areas. The Primary, Secondary, and Page Level navigations have a screen reader version of their nav structure that allows using the left and right keys to navigate sibling navigation items, and up or down keys to navigate parent or child navigation items. The others can be navigated using tabs. The Primary Navigation handles the first 2 levels of site pages. The Secondary (which is not always available) handles the 3rd and 4th level of structure. The Page level navigation allows you to navigate the current page's headings quickly. The Header Navigation contains the Light/Dark Mode toggle, Search, Notifications and account login. The Breadcrumb Navigation contains the breadcrumb of the current page. If the current page has a breadcrumb, you can get to it by skipping to the content and tabbing in reverse (shift plus tab). The Footer Navigation contains links such as Privacy, Contact, about and terms. Some resources contain an Audio Player that can be activated by holding down the T key for 3 seconds, and then using K to pause and resume. While not every area of Physics Classroom is usable purely from keyboard and screen reader, we are committed to continue work on making this possible. If you have questions or need additional help, please use this link to contact us.

Return to screen reader navigation
Home Concept Builders Forces in 2D Solve It! - Inclined Planes Notes

Notes

The Solve It! - Inclined Planes Concept Builder is an adjustable-size file that displays nicely on smart phones, on tablets such as the iPad, on Chromebooks, and on laptops and desktops. The size of the Interactive can be scaled to fit the device that it is displayed on. The compatibility with smart phones, iPads, other tablets, and Chromebooks make it a perfect tool for use in a 1:1 classroom.

Teaching Ideas and Suggestions

While not all Physics courses discuss inclined plane problems, those that do will appreciate this Concept Builder. This Concept Builder has three variations of inclined plane problems. Each physical situation involves the acceleration of an object along an inclined plane. Students must analyze the situation, determining the parallel- and perpendicular-components of the gravity force (mass is stated), the normal force, the friction force (in Master and Wizard Levels), the net force, and the acceleration. They must also identify that quantity associated with the given information. The numerical values provided to students will vary from session to session and from student to student as they are randomly generated.

This Concept Builder consists of three difficulty levels. Each level includes two situtations that must be analyzed. A free-body diagram and a short description is provided. Two or more numerical values (for example, mass, incline angle, and friction information) are provided. Students must identify the values of up to 9 quantities (7 in Apprentice level and 8 in Master level). A few of the values are stated in the provided description. The others must be calculated from an understanding of the relationships implicit to the situation. It is not necessary to start with the Apprentice Level or to finish with the Wizard Level. The activity was designed such that classrooms jump in and jump out at the locations that are most appropriate to them. We recommend that teachers view the Questions (Teachers Only) or do the Concept Builder in order to make judgements about what works best for their specific classes.

The three difficulty levels are differentiated as follows:
  • Apprentice Difficulty Level Questions 1-2: Analyze a problem involving a force applied at an angle to the horizontal to cause a horizontal acceleration. No friction.
  • Master DifficultyLevel Questions 3-4: Analyze a problem involving a force applied at an angle to the horizontal to cause a horizontal acceleration. Friction value is given.
  • Wizard Difficulty Level Questions 5-6: Analyze a problem involving a force applied at an angle to the horizontal to cause a horizontal acceleration. Coefficient of friction is given.
In order to complete a difficulty level, a student must successfully analyze both situations of that level. A successful analysis involves determining all the correct information requested - like the parallel- and perpendicular-components of the gravity force, the normal force, the friction force, the net force, and the acceleration. A student can enter values one blank at a time and use the Check Answers button to check. Feedback will be immediate and correct response cannot be changed thereafter. Incorrect responses can be corrected until they are correct. There is no penalty for misses or difficulty (other than the extra time and frustration that can be associated with it). When both analyses are correct, the student is returned to the Main Menu and (if logged in as a Task Tracker user) the Trophy for that difficulty level is displayed.

The most valuable (and most overlooked) aspect of this concept-building activity is the Help Me! feature. Each situation is accompanied by a Help page that discusses in detail the specifics of the situation. Formulas, tips, suggestions, etc. are provided. This Help feature transforms the activity from a question-answering activity into a concept-building activity. The student who takes the time to use the Help pages can be transformed from a guesser to a learner and from an unsure student to a confident student. The "meat and potatoes" of the Help pages are in the sections titled "How to Think About This Situation:" Students need to be encouraged by teachers to use the Help Me! button and to read this section of the page. A student that takes time to reflect upon how they are answering the question and how an expert would think about the situation can transform their naivete into expertise.

Related Resources

There are numerous resources at The Physics Classroom website that serve as very complementary supports for the Solve It! (with Vectors and Fnet=m•a) Concept Builder. These include:
  • Minds On Physics Internet Modules:
    The Minds On Physics Internet Modules include a collection of interactive questioning modules that help learners assess their understanding of physics concepts and solidify those understandings by answering questions that require higher-order thinking. Assignments from the Forces in Two Dimensions module make for a great complement to this Concept Builder. They are best used in the middle to later stages of the learning cycle. We recommend mission F2D2 as an accompaniment to this activity. Visit the Minds On Physics Internet Modules.

    Users may find that the App version of Minds On Physics works best on their devices. The App Version can be found at the Minds On Physics the App section of our website. The Forces in Two Dimensions module can be found on Part 2 of the six-part App series. Visit Minds On Physics the App.
     

Additional resources and ideas for incorporating Solve It! (with Vectors and Fnet=m•a) into an instructional unit on Newton's Laws can be found at the Teacher Toolkits section of The Physics Classroom website. Visit Teacher Toolkits.
Concept Builder Directions