Scalars and vectors (
)
Objective
To assess prior knowledge of learners and their understanding of the difference between scalar and vector quantities
To encourage them to fill in some gaps in their knowledge through research
Materials required
Attached card set (you may wish to alter some of the cards to match the particular syllabus you are using)
Large sheets of paper and glue sticks
Mechanics textbook or access to internet for research.
Suggested activity
Many teachers find that their learners come to A level mechanics with a very varied prior knowledge, partly depending on the nature of the Physics course that they followed at
GCSE. Also, there may be confusion about some of the vocabulary because of the different uses of the words in everyday language e.g. velocity and speed are often used to mean the same thing. Discuss your experience of this.
Organise your learners in pairs and give each pair a set of cards. How will you organise the pairs so that learners work together most effectively?
Ask the pairs to sort the cards into 3 groups:
Group 1: Confident about giving an explanation of the word on the card
Group 2: Rings a bell but not too confident
Gro up 3: Haven’t a clue/never met the word before. What do you think are the most useful things you could do as the teacher while the pairs are sorting the cards?
Once the cards have been sorted ask the pairs to choose one card from each group, write an explanation of the word or phrase and give an example to illustrate it. They may want to use their textbooks or the internet to help them with groups 2 and 3.
What strategies could you use to deal with pairs working at different rates?
Mathematical Moment
Scalars and vectors
Page 1 of 4

How will you check that all learners have the correct definitions at the end of the process?
Once you are satisfied that your learners have the correct meanings for the terms you might ask them to sort the cards into two categories of their choice. Hopefully they will sort into vectors and scalars, but it will be interesting to see!
How will you take feedback on their categories?
Further ideas
NASA Scalars and vectors http://www.grc.nasa.gov/WWW/K-12/airplane/vectors.html
Mathematical Moment
Scalars and vectors
Page 2 of 4

Scalars and vectors (
) speed displacement deceleration tension friction mass distance weight scalar vector momentum acceleration
Mathematical Moment
Scalars and vectors
Page 3 of 4

impulse velocity
Mathematical Moment
Scalars and vectors
Page 4 of 4