Lesson Plan: Power as the Rate of Work Mathematics
This lesson plan includes the objectives, prerequisites, and exclusions of the lesson teaching students how to define the power of a force as the derivative of the work done by the force.
Objectives
Students will be able to
- understand that power is the time derivative of work,
- distinguish between instantaneous power and average power,
- calculate the power of a force by taking the time derivative of work,
- calculate the power of a force by taking the time derivative of the scalar (dot) product of force and displacement,
- calculate the amount of work done over a period of time by taking the definite integral of power.
Prerequisites
Students should already be familiar with
- power,
- work,
- integration,
- vectors,
- scalar (dot) product.
Exclusions
Students will not cover
- questions involving only work.
