Motivating Equations In Physics

Equations in physics help us to solve problems, but this isn’t immediately obvious to students. I try to motivate the utility of equations in my lessons by following a similar method for each equation. Here, I’ll use the example of calculating the work done when pushing an object. A lot of the inspiration for this comes from Gethyn Jones article in Impact on p-prims – how you go about priming the students to appreciate whether relationships are proportional or inversely proportional or something else. I want students to “see the physics” and then use their knowledge to feel confident in performing calculations, appreciating why they’re useful and how they relate to the underlying physics concept.

I start by drawing out a situation that is typically a comparison between two different scenarios (cue award winning drawing)

Download our mobile app.

Your app is your tool for better solution with your followers, making it easier for them to keep up to date.

Available on