Lesson Plan: Gravitational Potential Energy Physics
This lesson plan includes the objectives, prerequisites, and exclusions of the lesson teaching students how to calculate changes in the energy of an object in a gravitational field using the definition of the gravitational potential energy, 𝐸 = 𝑚𝘨𝘩.
Objectives
Students will be able to
- define a change in gravitational potential energy as the work done on an object by the force of gravity,
- apply the formula gravitational potential energy to find any of the terms in the formula,
- recall that and deduce that .
Prerequisites
Students should already be familiar with
- the principle of conservation of energy treated qualitatively,
- work = force distance,
- weight = mass acceleration due to gravity.
Exclusions
Students will not cover
- any motion of Earth due to its gravitational attraction to an object at some distance from it.
- the internal structure of Earth,
- reference points.