Lesson Plan: Angular Momentum in Terms of Linear Momentum Physics
This lesson plan includes the objectives, prerequisites, and exclusions of the lesson teaching students how to calculate the angular momentum of an object that is moving along a circular path from its instantaneous linear momentum.
Objectives
Students will be able to
- use and to find the magnitude of the angular momentum of an object around a point,
- understand that for circular motion, we tend to define the point that the angular momentum is calculated from as the center of the circle, but any object that is moving can have an angular momentum defined relative to any point,
- understand that for an object moving in a straight line, if we define the point that the angular momentum is calculated from to be on that line, then the angular momentum is zero.
Prerequisites
Students should already be familiar with
- how to use to find the magnitude of the momentum of an object moving in a straight line.
Exclusions
Students will not cover
- calculations of the angular momentum that use the moment of inertia,
- the conservation of angular momentum,
- nonclassical angular momenta (i.e., spin).
