Lesson Plan: The Lorentz Velocity Transformation
This lesson plan includes the objectives, prerequisites, and exclusions of the lesson teaching students how to calculate the velocity of an object in a reference frame that has a relative speed to the frame that the velocity was measured in.
Objectives
Students will be able to
- use in all permutations for parallel motion,
- use in all permutations for antiparallel motion,
- realize that is the same in all reference frames,
- interpret graphs of the Lorentz and Galilean velocity transformations.
Prerequisites
Students should already be familiar with
- inertial reference frames,
- Einstein’s postulates,
- the Lorentz factor.
Exclusions
Students will not cover
- length contraction,
- time dilation,
- coordinate transforms,
- metrics,
- intervals,
- the relativistic Doppler effect,
- relativistic mass, momentum, and energy.
