Contextualization

Physics is the science that studies nature and its phenomena. The theme 'Instantaneous Velocity' is part of the content of kinematics, a branch of physics that studies the movement of bodies without worrying about the causes of that movement.

Instantaneous velocity is a measure of how fast an object is moving at a given moment. If you have ever driven a car, you have used a speedometer to measure the speed of the car on several occasions. The number that the speedometer indicates is an approximation of the car's instantaneous velocity.

Instantaneous velocity is not only a measure of how fast an object is moving. It also gives the direction of the movement. This means that instantaneous velocity is a vector quantity - it has both magnitude (how fast the object is moving) and direction.

Relevance of the Theme and its Applications

Instantaneous velocity is an extremely relevant concept, not only in the study of physics, but also in various real-life applications. Using instantaneous velocity, engineers can design more efficient and safer traffic routes, meteorologists can predict wind direction and speed, and athletes can improve their performance in a variety of sports.

Furthermore, instantaneous velocity is crucial for understanding more advanced concepts in physics, such as acceleration, uniform circular motion, and fluid kinematics.

Practical Activity

Activity Title: Practical Study of Instantaneous Velocity

Project Objective

Students will build a homemade toy car racing track to observe and calculate the instantaneous velocity at different points on the track. The goal is to understand the concept of instantaneous velocity and how it changes along the course.

Detailed Project Description

The project will be carried out in groups of 3 to 5 students and should have a total duration of five to ten hours per student, spread over a month. Each group will build a homemade car and a racing track for the car. Students must draw a diagram of the track and choose three different points on the course to measure the car's instantaneous velocity.

Required Materials

1. Building materials for the car (can be made with recyclable materials such as popsicle sticks, bottle caps, etc.)
2. Stopwatch
3. Tape measure
4. Materials to build the track (can be a flat board or cardboard)
5. Pen and paper to record the results
6. Camera or cell phone to record the experiment

Step-by-Step for Activity Execution

1. The group must build the homemade car and draw the track.
2. Next, the race test should be carried out, where students will release the car at the beginning of the track and, with the stopwatch, measure the time it takes for the car to reach each of the three chosen points on the track.
3. The students should then calculate the car's instantaneous velocity at each point, using the formula for instantaneous velocity (velocity = distance/time).
4. The students should repeat the test at least three times to obtain an average of the times and velocities at each point.
5. The results should be recorded in a table and discussed among the group members.

After the practical activity, students should write a written report on the project, which should be organized as follows:

1. Introduction: In this section, students should contextualize the theme of instantaneous velocity, its relevance, real-world applications, and present the project's objective.

2. Development: In this part, students should explain the theory behind instantaneous velocity, detail the activity performed, indicate the methodology used, present and discuss the results obtained.

3. Conclusion: In this section, students should summarize the main points of the project, explain the learnings gained, and draw conclusions about the project.

4. Bibliography: In this part, students should indicate the sources they used to work on the project, such as books, web pages, videos, among others.

The report should be submitted by the end of the month, along with an oral presentation of the project to the class.