Work - Directions

 

How it Works:

Using the Work Concept Builder is quite simple. There are three different activities that can be completed, each requiring an understanding of some aspect of the concept of work. In Activity 1, a situation is described and you must identify whether the situation involves the doing of positive work, negative work, or no work at all. You identify the answer by tapping on one of the three buttons. Your chosen answer is highlighted in yellow. Once you have selected an answer option, a Check Answer button appears. Once you are satisfied with your answer, tap on the Check Answer button. Your answers will be evaluated and your Progress Report will be updated.

In Activity 2, a situation involving work is described. You must determine what force is doing the work. You do so by tapping on one of four descriptions of a force (or on the corresponding radio button to the left of the choice). Your selected answer can be identified by the presence of red text. You will also have to identify whether the total mechanical energy of the object increases or decreases or remains the same as the result of this work. You can identify the answer by tapping on one of the three buttons. Your chosen answers are highlighted in yellow. Once you have answered both questions, a Check Answers button appears. Once you are satisfied with your answer, tap on the Check Answers button. Your answers will be evaluated and your Progress Report will be updated.

In Activity 3, a situation involving work is described. You must determine the energy transformation that occurs as the result of this work. You will be presented with five options. You can select an answer option by tapping on the option or on the radio button to the left of the options. Your selected answer option is identified by red text. If you change your mind, just tap on a different option. Once you have selected an answer option, a Check Answer button appears. Once you are satisfied with your answer, tap on the Check Answer button. Your answers will be evaluated and your Progress Report will be updated.

Your goal is to earn "Stars" and to complete one or more of the activities. Stars are earned when you show success on a particular question. Once you show success on all the questions of a particular activity, you will earn the Trophy for that activity.
 

Earning Stars

When you start up any of the activities, the number of questions for that activity are shown in the Progress Report area of the Concept Builder. You will notice that there is either a Yellow or a Red background for each question number. When starting up an activity, the background color is Yellow. Answering a "Yellow" question correctly earns you a star for that question number. However, answering it incorrectly turns the background color to Red. A question number with a Red background must be correctly answered twice (without a miss) in order to earn a star. 

 

Getting Help

You will notice that there is a Help Me button underneath the Progress Report. You should learn to use this feature of the program. It's how you can turn an exercise in answering questions into an exercise in learning. Tapping on the Help Me button will open a page with help that is specific to each question. Of course, the Help pages are only helpful if you read them. So take the time to read them. Each Help page contains four sections: a discussion of the Fundamentals, a display of the various Questions in the Question Group, a section titled "How to Think About This Situation", and a set of links to resources in our Tutorial section. You should pay attention to the sectoin titled How to Think About This Situation. You will find what you need to know in the two or three paragraphs in this section. You will also become a better Physics student for doing that. That is, after all, the goal of such a Concept Builder as Work​.
 

Thanks for being patient with the Directions. Happy learning!