Domains and Learning Objectives

D1. Demonstrates concepts of forces. (Application)

S1.1. Identifies examples of everyday forces. (Knowledge)
S1.2 Shows forces with Free Body Diagrams. (Application)
S1.3 Compute unknown forces with Vector Analysis. (Application)
S1.4. Computes Net Forces with Vector Analysis. (Application)
S1.5. Explain the difference between mass and Weight. (Comprehension)
D2. Apply Newton’s Laws. (Application)
S2.1. Predicts Motion with Newton’s Laws. (Application)
S2.2. Explain Newton’s 1st Law with constant motion objects. (Comprehension)
S2.3. Compute Newton’s 2nd Law using equation Net Force = mass times acceleration.
(Application)
S2.4. Explain Newton’s 3rd Law with interacting objects. (Comprehension)
Assessment (40 minutes)
For the following short answer questions, Explain whether each statement is true or not. You
must give a reason why it is true or false.

1) In a head on collision between a large truck and a small car, the force on the car will be
larger than the force on the truck.
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2) An object moving through space will eventually slow down even if there is no force
acting on it.
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Multiple Choice: Circle the letter that best answers the question.

3) An object with a mass of 20 kg accelerates at 2 m/s 2. What was the magnitude of the
Net Force acting on this object during the acceleration?
a) 0 N
b) 0.1 N
c) 10 N
d) 40 N
e) 392 N
4) Two boys push on a box. Boy A pushes the box in a Northeast direction with a force of
10 N. Boy B pushes in a Southwest direction with a force of 5 N. What direction will the
box move?
a) Northeast
b) Northwest
c) Southeast
d) Southwest

5) When a book slides across a flat floor, it will slow down and come to a stop. What force
causes this?
a) Friction
b) Gravity
c) Normal Force
d) Tension

6) Explain the difference between mass and Weight. Compare your mass and Weight on
Earth with your mass and Weight on Jupiter.
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 7) A 40 kg crate is being pulled across a level surface by a rope that has tension of 25 N at
an angle of 35o above the horizontal. There is a resistance force of 7 N provided by
friction.
a) In the space provided, draw a free body diagram with all forces labeled.

b) Find the magnitude of the Normal Force. Show all your work for full credit.

c) Find the Net Force acting on the crate. Show all your work for full credit.

d) What is the acceleration and direction of the box? Show all your work for full credit.

Scoring Model – Key of correct answers provided in 2nd Attachment

1)

Points Criteria
2 Student gave the correct True/False response with correct reasoning.
1 Student gave the correct True/False response with incorrect reasoning.
0 Student gave incorrect True/False response.
2)

Points Criteria
2 Student gave the correct True/False response with correct reasoning.
1 Student gave the correct True/False response with incorrect reasoning.
0 Student gave incorrect True/False response.

3) 1 pt for correct choice

4) 1 pt for correct choice

5) 1 pt for correct choice

6)

Points Criteria
3 Students explains difference between mass and weight correctly and correctly
explains mass and weight on Jupiter compared to Earth.
2 Student incorrectly explains either mass or weight but correctly explains mass and
weight on Jupiter compared to Earth.
1 Student correctly explains mass and weight but incorrectly explains mass and
weight on Jupiter compared to Earth.
0 Student does not correctly explain mass and weight and does not correctly explain
mass and weight on Jupiter compared to Earth.

7) a)

Points Criteria
2 Student drew a complete and correct Free Body Diagram with all Forces labeled.
1 Student drew a Free Body Diagram but 1-2 errors in either direction of arrows,
missing arrows, or mislabeled arrows.
0 Student made more than 2 errors in their Free Body Diagram.

b)

Points Criteria
 3 Student correctly calculates the Normal Force with Vector Analysis
2 Student makes 1-2 errors that result in incorrect answer. All work is shown.
1 Student calculates an incorrect answer with more than 2 errors or student has not
shown enough work to see the error they made.
0 Student did not attempt the problem.

c)

Points Criteria
3 Student correctly calculates the Net Force with Vector Analysis
2 Student makes 1-2 errors that result in incorrect answer. All work is shown.
1 Student calculates an incorrect answer with more than 2 errors or student has not
shown enough work to see the error they made.
0 Student did not attempt the problem.

d)

Points Criteria
2 Student uses Newton’s 2nd Law equation to solve correct answer.
1 Student used Newton’s 2nd Law equation to solve problems but made an error that
lead to an incorrect answer.
0 Student calculated wrong answer and did not use Newton’s 2 nd Law equation or
student did not attempt problem.

Links to Learning Objectives

Question Learning Reason for Link
Number Objective(s)
1 S2.4 Student will need to explain that forces between two colliding objects are
equal which is the main concept of Newton’s 3 rd Law. Explaining is on the
comprehension level which is the same as the LO.
2 S2.2 Student will need to explain that without a force, an object will continue in its
constant state of motion which is Newton’s 1 st Law. Explaining is on the
comprehension level which is the same as the LO.
3 S2.3 Student will need to compute Net Force with equation Net Force = mass
times acceleration. This question is the exact same as the LO and the
compute verb is on the application level which matches LO.
4 S2.1 Student will need to predict the motion of the object using Newton’s Laws. In
this case the student would need to figure out where the Net Force is acting
using Newton’s 2nd Law. The second law using the fact that objects will
accelerate in the direction of the net force. Students should see that more
force is being applied Northeast compared to Southwest so the Net Force will
be to the Northeast. Students are predicting the motion which is on the
application level, same as the LO.
5 S1.1 This question has students identify an everyday force of friction. The verb of
Identify matches with the verb of the LO and at a level of Knowledge.
6 S1.5 Students will need to explain the difference between mass and weight which
is at a level of comprehension, the same as the LO. The question is the exact
same as the learning objective.
7a S1.2 Students will need to draw a Free Body Diagram. This requires students to
represent forces with arrows acting on an object. The learning objective has a
verb of show and students are being asked to draw so both are on the
application level.
7b S1.3 Students will use vector analysis learned in previous units and apply it to
forces. Students will use vector analysis to compute the unknown Normal
Force which matches up with the LO with an application level. Students
should also know how to compute force of gravity given mass from previous
unit.
7c S1.4 Net Force is computed with vector analysis which is the exact same as the
learning object and at a level of application. Students should already know
what vector analysis is from previous units.
 7d S2.1, S2.4 Students will need to compute acceleration using Newton’s 2 nd Law equation.
Computing is on the level of application which matches with LO. The equation
just needs to be algebraically rearranged which they should know from
previous units. Students will also need to use Newton’s Laws to predict the
direction of motion of the crate which is at application level and the same as
the LO.

Assessment Reflection

I have not administered this assessment to my Physics class before but I have done
similar assessments for this unit. I did not provide those assessments because they were riddled
with assessment errors such as the multiple choice questions and point values were unreliable.
Instead I created a completely new assessment based on the learning objectives of the Unit of
Forces and Newton’s Laws.

There are some problems I see with this assessment as they are issues I have had in the
past. For problem number 7 it is a four part question and answers to previous parts are used in
other parts of the problem. If a student messes up on 7a then that error will impact 7b, 7c, and
7d. In the past I have graded it where if they messed up on part A they will not be penalized as
long as they do the correct process for part B. So for this assessment if a student missed the
force of gravity in part A but did Part B correct minus the force of gravity then I would give
them full credit for Part B. I’m not sure if this is the best way to grade it but it’s what I have
been doing. The one way I could fix this is maybe do away with a four part question and just
have students find the acceleration of the object and grade the whole problem out of 10 points
with a new rubric.

The other problem I have is that Physics assessments take a long time to take. My first
couple of assessments I made, students were taking much longer to complete than I had
thought it would. This made me cut down the lengths of the assessments to a much lower
number of questions. Doing this also creates the problem that you can’t test for as many
learning objectives as you want. There is a lot of more specific material about forces that didn’t
make the LOs or the assessment because there just isn’t enough time in a 40 minute class
period. If I did want to create more LOs then I would need a second period for testing. So I
could create a second assessment that went over more LOs.

Once I give out this assessment, I would monitor how well students answered each
question. In week 6 we learned about p-values and point-biserial and that is something that I
could do to check for validity and reliability of items on my test. I can also use that information
to modify the test for the following year. There is also unforeseen mistakes that I just can’t see
right now. I have run into the problem many times where a student misinterprets the problem I
have given in a way I was not thinking off. For number 7 I put in the phrase “across a level
surface” because I have had students think that the second part of the problem where I give
the angle means that the object is on an incline. So I anticipate problems like that showing up
on this assessment, it is just very difficult to spot those reading over it many times. The last
part of data from the assessment I would use is how well students performed. If students
scored low on certain areas, I would know where to put emphasis on for next year. If students
scored really well on this assessment then I could try to expand the LOs or maybe make them
higher order.