Spiraling Conservation of Energy/Mass in Introductory Physics : Kirchhoff to Bernoulli

Author / Creator

AAPT SM21 (2021)

Conferences

AAPT SM21 PS.B-SA-11: Spiral Physics and Parallel Pedagogy (2021)

Available as

Online

Summary

Building on my presentations in the past, I argue that students can become more grounded in physics by the realization of that multitude of physics equations which can be regarded in terms of the L...

Building on my presentations in the past, I argue that students can become more grounded in physics by the realization of that multitude of physics equations which can be regarded in terms of the Law of Conservation of Energy or Conservation of Mass. Examples of this are in Kirchhoff's two Laws of Electricity in terms of, respectively, voltage loops which is scaled per charge and current splitting scaled per time. Another set of complementary examples is in fluid dynamics regarding, respectively, Bernoulli's Equation which is scaled per volume and the Continuity Equation scaled per time (see also Poster Session for details). Revisiting these Conservation Laws also underscores their broad importance and aids in student recall and additional application into the future. Examples of potential confusions and pitfalls for teachers to be aware of are given.

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