Intro to Vectors (Physics)

At a glance:

Topics: vectors, magnitude, direction, vector components

Grades: 9-11

Standards: CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.HSN.VM.A.1-3

Duration to complete: 10-15 minutes

Learning outcome: Students will learn that vectors are quantities with magnitude and direction, see how vectors are visually represented, understand how vectors may be represented as x and y vector components, become familiar with relevant vocabulary such as “magnitude”, “direction”, and “vector components”, and contextualize vectors in everyday life.

Intro for students: Encounter vectors in the wild, courtesy of Phenomena! Draw with magnitude and direction; draw with X and Y components! On the course, or in the parking lot -- vectors are everywhere, more than you thought! #vectors #physics #phenomena #golf

What makes this topic challenging for kids?

Vectors are often misunderstood when they are explained in their most abstract mathematical form. Too often, vectors are introduced to students by their mathematical definition (“a vector is an object that has both a magnitude and a direction”). The tricky vocabulary and abstract nature of vectors often proves to halt learning in its tracks.

What’s our approach?

The Phenomena approach to vectors builds intuition first with hands-on learning before presenting vectors in abstract. The experience demonstrates vectors in real-world contexts so that the student may be grounded in real-world understanding. The trickier vocabulary terms are introduced through gameplay controls so that students may make cause-and-effect connections on how playing with the magnitude, direction, and vector components affects the final vector. The real-world context and cause-and-effect connections forged by this interactive experience will lay a firm foundation for successful future studies in math and physics.

Through this engaging, interactive experience, you can expect students to build a dynamic mental model of vectors in a matter of minutes.