Science.8.7.A

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The student is expected to calculate and analyze how the acceleration of an object is dependent upon the net force acting on the object and the mass of the object using Newton's Second Law of Motion; and
1666 TEKS header image

Knowledge and Skills Statement

Force, motion, and energy. The student understands the relationship between force and motion within systems.

The further explanation is designed to be a resource for educators that helps them better understand the topic their students are learning. Further explanations may be written at a more complex level than would be expected for students at the grade level.

In Grade 6, students calculated net force in the horizontal and vertical directions. In Grade 8, students will use the net force to calculate acceleration. In high school Physics, students will calculate the net force when there are forces acting on an object at angles other than 90 degrees.

Students should be able to describe the relationships between force, mass, and acceleration. Some questions that may help guide these discussions include the following:

  • When the force applied to an object increases or decreases (and mass stays the same), what happens to the acceleration of an object?
  • When the acceleration of an object increases or decreases (and mass stays the same), what happens to the force with which it will collide?
  • When the mass of an object increases or decreases (and the force stays the same), what happens to the acceleration?
  • When the mass of an object increases or decreases (and the acceleration stays the same), what happens to the force with which it will collide?

By the end of instruction in this student expectation, all students should be able to calculate acceleration using the formula, but not all students will have the math background to be able to manipulate the formula to calculate mass or force.

Glossary terms and definitions are consistent across kindergarten through high school in the TEKS Guide. The definitions are intended to give educators a common understanding of the terms regardless of what grade level they teach. Glossary definitions are not intended for use with students.

a vector quantity (magnitude and direction) that is a measurement of the change in motion of an object (speeding up, slowing down, or changing direction); the result of an unbalanced force; calculated as the rate of change in the velocity over time or by dividing the force applied by the mass of the object

a push or pull between two objects

the amount of matter in a substance, measured in grams or kilograms

an act, process, or instance of changing position or location

the sum of all the forces acting on an object within a system; includes both magnitude and direction

regularly interacting or interdependent group of items forming a unified whole

Research

Robertson, Bill. “Science 101.” Science and Children 49, no. 9 (2012):68–71. http://www.jstor.org/stable/43747387. https://digital.nsta.org/publication/?m=13899&i=328065&view=articleBrowser&article_id=2556398&ver=html5

Summary: Acceleration is often paired with misunderstandings.  In "Science 101: Q: What Exactly Is Acceleration?" the details of acceleration are explained, and various examples are provided for demonstration. This article supports teacher understanding beyond this grade level.