Physics Lesson Plan

Topic: Introduction to Moment

In partial fulfillment of the requirements for

QCP 521 Teaching of Physics II

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 Lesson Plan

Topic : Turning Effect of Forces (Introduction to Moment)

Duration: 70 minutes (double period)
Target Class : Secondary 3 Express.

Instructional Objectives: At the end of lesson, students should be able to:

1. Describe the moment of a force in terms of its pivot, force applied

and the perpendicular distance from the pivot to the line of action.
2. Describe some relevant daily life examples.
3. Define and calculate moments using formula M = F × D⊥
4. State and apply principle of moments for a body in equilibrium to
solve problems.

Prior Knowledge : Before the lesson, students shall be able to:

1. State and apply Newton’s law of motion.

2. Interpret and construct force diagram.
3. Construct perpendicular lines from a point to a line.

New Concepts/Terms:

Turning Effect of Forces

is also known as

Moment or Torque

Clockwise
can be
calculated by

Anti-clockwise 0.25 m
[SI units: Nm]

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Learning Aids & Resources :

Set Induction : A half-metre rule

IT : i) PowerPoint slides and overhead projector

ii) Video demonstration on seesaw candle

Non-IT i) Worksheets (Appendices A, B, C)

ii) Whiteboard and markers
iii) Wrenches

Hands-on : 21 sets of the following apparatus:

a half-meter rule, a mass of 50g, a mass of 100g, string and
scissors.

Set Induction :

• Ask students to observe and spot the difference in the way you drop the half-meter
rule, as the following diagram depicts. One is to hold the meter rule at two ends and
let go both ends simultaneously to allow free fall. The other is to hold the meter rule
at two ends and release only one end, so the rule swings down towards the other end.

hand hand

half-metre
rule

• Use this activity to introduce pivot and turning effect of forces (moment or torque)

• Get a student (probably a big guy) to open the classroom door as he usually does.
Then ask him to open the door by only pushing near the hinge. He will realize it is
extremely difficult to do so. If the class is not convinced, ask a few more students to
try.

• Ask the class to identify the pivot in this case and note the turning effect of the push
on the door. Get the class to see the difference is the distance from the pivot.

• Introduce the concept of moment or torque.

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Lesson Development :

1) Everyday applications

The trigger activity uses the simple action of door opening to let students appreciate physics in
our life. And more daily examples (wrench, crane, can opening etc) are introduced later to bring
relevance of moment to the classroom.

2) Student participation

This will be a student-centred lesson whereby the class works in pairs to investigate the principle
of moment. They will be given the necessary apparatus and worksheet (Appendix B) to deduce
the relationship between clockwise moment and anti clockwise moment. Some students will
also present their solutions to some problems on the board. This helps to keep the students on
task and build up their confidence.

3) Experimental activities

The exploration activity on principle of moment provides hands-on experience and promotes
inquiry thinking to enhance students’ learning.

4) Collaborative learning

After each pair has done the investigative activity, they will share their findings with the class
and answer any questions pertaining to their findings.

5) IT – Interactive multimedia

The lesson will use PowerPoint slides as visual aides and show a video demonstration of seesaw
candle to illustrate the principle of moment.

Lesson Closure:

Get the class to reflect on their learning and share with the class. Summarize the main
objectives of the lesson.

References:

• GCE ‘O’ Levels Physics Syllabus (5052)

• Video demonstration of seesaw candle http://teachersportal.nie.edu.sg/kcyap/Physics2002/O
%20Level/Turning%20Effect%20of%20Forces/Demo%206%20-%20CG%20-%20Candle
%20See%20Saw/candleseesaw.mpg

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Lesson Plan Proper
Microteaching session is highlighted in italics.

Time
Frame Teaching/Learning Activities Materials Rationale Key questions
(min)

Induction Activity:

Ask students to observe and spot the difference in the way

5 you drop the half-meter rule. One is to hold the meter rule • What’s the main
at two ends and let go both simultaneously to allow free fall. Half -Meter By comparing two different difference in the way I
The other is to hold the meter rule at two ends and release Rule types of falling, it introduces drop the rule?
only one end, so the rule swings down towards the other end. pivot and turning effects of • How would you
forces to the students. describe the motion of
the rule?
Get a student (probably a big guy) to open the classroom
door as he usually does. Then ask him to open the door by
only pushing near the hinge. He will realize it is extremely
difficult to do so. Ask class to think of some daily life Blackboard and This simple everyday example • What has changed in
examples of moments. marker brings relevance of moments to these two different
our life and get students examine ways of opening the
Show two wrenches, one with long arm, the other with short the rationale behind. door?
arm. Ask students which wrench would they choose to • Could you identify the
unscrew a bolt. Wrenches pivot in this case?

Development of Concepts:

Definition and Calculation of Moments

5 1. Introduce the definition of moments Through comparing to formula • Have you seen the
(formula and units), stressing on the meaning of of work done, it promotes lateral formula somewhere
“perpendicular distance”, and comparing with the thinking and linkage to prior else? Also involves
definition of work done. Go back to the examples of
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Time
Frame Teaching/Learning Activities Materials Rationale Key questions
(min)
two wrenches with different length and door-opening Whiteboard and knowledge. force and distance?
activity, ask students to apply the formula to explain markers • Why do you feel it’s
that the moment required to turn an object is fixed, harder to open the
while distance is longer, force required will be less. door if you push near
the hinge?

2. Show some daily life examples of Worksheet Make sure students understand • Is this the correct way
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moments, get students to identify the pivot, the force appendix A the perpendicular distance is of drawing
and construct the perpendicular distance. During the (OHT) from pivot to the line of force by perpendicular
construction, the line of force can be extended if showing the examples. distance? (non-
necessary. Can ask students to present their answer example)
on the transparency.
5 Let students realize that force • Which direction shall I
3. Using wrench example, ask Wrench, Clock and distance will influence the apply the force? F1,
students to choose the direction to apply force on the (in classroom) outcome of turning effects. F2 or F3?
wrench. At the same time introduce clockwise and Use clock to illustrate the
anticlockwise moments using the wrench example. direction of moments.

10 • What happened if I
Whiteboard and
4. Let students try some simple It’s easier for students to change the question to
markers
questions on calculation of moments. Ask a few visualize and understand using “find the moment
Worksheet
students to present their answers on the board if time numerical examples. about point B
appendix C
allows. And use the working examples to investigate instead”?
moment about different points, students will realize
the importance of identifying the pivot.

Principle of Moments • Have you ever noticed

5 Visual aides to show real life how a crane keeps its
1. Recall the concept of clockwise and PowerPoint application of moments. balance?
anticlockwise moments, show pictures of cranes to let slides
students ponder how to balance the moments.

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Time
Frame Teaching/Learning Activities Materials Rationale Key questions
(min)
15 • Is there any pattern
2. Inquiry Activity (Pairwork) PowerPoint The inquiry and induction you have recognized?
Give clear instructions and expectations before Slides approach is taken here to let
grouping the students. Ask one student to tie the Half-meter rule, students investigate the principle
string at 25 cm mark to keep the rule balanced. Then string, 50g and of moments themselves. This is
put the 100g at one side of the string and the 50 g on 100g masses. to promote a sense of ownership
the other side to keep the rule balanced. The other towards students’ learning.
student fills the data table in the worksheet to record Worksheet
down the mass and the corresponding distance. Let appendix B
the students share their findings and induce the
principle of moments.
10 Worksheet Pointing out students’ common • Are these all the
3. Ask the students to draw the force diagram of appendix B mistakes helps them to avoid forces present on the
their experiment. Highlight the presence of making the same mistakes. rule?
gravitational force on all objects on earth. If the Video clip • Why is the candle
gravitational force is passing through the pivot, no (Seesaw seesawing?
moment is resulted due to zero distance. Relate the Candle)
previous crane example and ask students to apply the
principle to explain how the crane keeps its balance.
Show the video of seesaw candle to get students
explain the observation. Worksheet Practice to reinforce the concept.
appendix C
4. Show one working example using principle
of moments. Ask students do a few more questions,
in increasing difficulty.

5 Closure:

1. Let Encourages reflective learning • What are the most

students write down their reflection of the lesson. and makes learning more important things you
Then ask a few students to share what they have learnt conscious and visible to the have learnt in this
from this lesson. students. lesson?
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 Time
Frame Teaching/Learning Activities Materials Rationale Key questions
(min)

2. Summar
ize the concepts taught in this lesson: the definition of
moments, its application in our daily life, the principle
of moments.
3. Ask
students to finish the questions in the worksheet as
homework. Tell them that you will check their work
in the next lesson.

Microteaching Reflection

Through the process of micoteaching, I have learnt the following points:

• Be very thorough and confident about the content I am teaching. I realized that students could ask any questions related or non-related to the topic
you are teaching, thus it’s essential to be very familiar with the content and prepare beyond the requirement of the syllabus. For example, only by observing
my colleague’s microteaching, I realize some of my misconceptions, like speed of wave is only affected by the medium it is traveling, not by the wave’s
frequency or wavelength as the equation may have suggested v = fλ .
• Listening to my colleague’s microteaching, I realize the importance of student-centred teaching. There are various ways to engage the students, like
doing investigative activities, getting feedback from the students, showing video clips or simulations. In comparison, real life demonstration is more
effective to bring the message across than a demonstration video clip.
• Lesson plan helps greatly in structuring the lesson and smooth transition of the contents. It makes me conscious to decide the flow of the ideas so
that students can follow the concepts and don’t get lost in the lesson. The lesson plan also helps me to identify the rationales behind each teaching activities,
so that it’s clear to me which skills are not developed in the lesson and helps me to improve my teaching approaches.
• In demonstration or illustration of concepts, it’s important to convince the students what you are saying is true, like if you have two magnets, you tell
students one magnet is stronger than the other, to verify this, you show that the stronger magnet can attract a lot more paper clips than the weaker magnet.
This helps students to clear their doubts and believe in what they are seeing.
• I also note that if the demonstration produces quite a few results or you have quite a few questions related to the demonstration, it’s beneficial to
record the observations or students’ answers on the whiteboard. This helps students to stay focused and also makes it much easier for you to refer to while
illustrating the concepts.

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I find the microteaching very helpful and beneficial, it opens my mind to various ideas of teaching physics topics and brings my attention to some
common pitfalls. Through sharing and observation, we learnt each other’s strength and weakness.

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Appendix A Daily Application of Moments

Draw on the following diagram the pivot, the force and the perpendicular distance.
Indicate whether the direction of the moment too, clockwise or anticlockwise.

spoon

lid

effort

Tin can

effort P

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Appendix B Investigation on Principle of Moments

Objectives:
• To analyze the effects of clockwise and anti clockwise moment
• To investigate the conditions to keep an object at equilibrium
• To induce the principle of moments

Apparatus:
• A half-metre rule
• A mass of 50g and a mass of 100g
• Some strings

1. Use the string to suspend the rule, make sure the rule is balanced. At which marking shall you tie the
string?

2. Place the 50g mass anywhere on one side of the rule, what effect does it have on the rule? What’s the
moment and the direction of the moment? Show your working clearly.

3. Place the 100g mass on the other side of rule to keep the rule balanced. At which marking shall you
put the 100g for this to work? What’s the moment produced by this 100g mass and the direction of
the moment? Show your working clearly.

4. Repeat step 2-3 five times and record the data in the following table. g = 10m/s2

Weight of 100g mass __________________ Weight of 50g mass____________________

1 2 3 4 5 6
Direction Direction of
Moment Moment
Distance of of moment moment
produced by Distance of produced by
100g mass produced produced by
Data set 100g mass 50g mass 50g mass
from pivot by 100g 50g mass
about the from pivot about the
(cm) mass about about the
pivot (Nm) pivot (Nm)
the pivot pivot
1

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5. Did you observe any pattern in the values you obtained from column 3 and 6? How about column 2
and 5?

6. Based on your investigation, what do you think are the necessary conditions for an object to be
balanced (in equilibrium)?

7. Draw a force diagram of the experiment while the rule is balanced with 100g and 50g masses on it.
Indicate ALL forces acting on the rule.

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Appendix C Exercises on Turning Effect of Force

1. Find the moment of the exerted force about the pivot O for the following situations, show your
working clearly.

5N 5N
0.75 m
O O O

1.5 m 1.5 m 1.5 m 5N

2. Find the moment of the exerted force about the pivot O for the following situations:

1.3 m

1.5 m 5N

10 N

1.5 m
O
30°

Hint: use trigonometry

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3. A metre rule with uniform weight is balanced at its centre by two weights, X and Y as shown in
the figure below. If the weight of X is 40 N and the weight of Y is 60 N, find the distance of
weight Y from the support.
0.3 m d

40N 60N

4. A metre rule with uniform weight is balanced by a weight, Z as shown in the figure below. If the
weight of Z is 40 N and the weight of the ruler

0.1 m 0.25 m

40N W

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5. A man of mass 72 kg stands on one end of a see-saw. Two children sit on the opposite end as
shown in Figure 6. If the pivot is assumed to be smooth, which of the following gives the correct
combination of the masses of the children that are able to balance the man?

0.50 m

Man 1.00 m
B
1.50 m A

Child A Child B

A 40 kg 50 kg
B 45 kg 42 kg
C 50 kg 40 kg
D 54 kg 54 kg

6. A painter of weight 1000N stands 1.0m from the left-hand end of a uniform plank which is 5.0m
long and weighs 800N. The plank is supported by two trestles each 0.5m from the opposite ends.
The diagram below shows the two upward forces P and Q acting on the plank due to the trestles.

0.5m 0.5m
7.
8.
9.
P Q

(a) Complete the diagram above to show any other forces which are acting on the
plank. Name each of these forces.
(b) What is the magnitude of the total downward force exerted on the trestles?
(c) What is the magnitude of the total upward force exerted by the trestles on the
plank?
(d) By taking moments about the left trestle, calculate the upward force exerted on
the plank by the other trestle.

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