Kinematics Crime Scene

​I have found that my kinematics unit is basically an equation-fest where students rearrange and solve word problems. Most of the practice that we do is very sterile and typically only involves the values that are clearly needed to answer the question. In reality, problems rarely present themselves in this way. In response to a growing fear that my students are learning the math but losing the problem solving process, my colleagues and I put together a murder mystery that uses concepts of kinematics to build evidence and solve a crime.

Lesson Plan - Kinematics Crime Scene
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Content Covered

​The Kinematic Equations are the bread and butter of solving motion problems in physics when constant acceleration is present. I teach my students that if you know 3 variables, you can always find the other two as long you can select the proper equation. We have found that it helps to make this table together to help show that each of the kinematic equations can be used to solve in different scenarios.

​Since the acceleration due to gravity at earth's surface is a constant, you can plug this acceleration into any of these equations to solve for unknowns like the height of a building or the time of freefall. For this particular activity, students will come to the same conclusion whether they use g = 9.81 m/s², g = 9.8 m/s², or g = 10 m/s².

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Lesson Structure

The heart of this lesson is all about motivating students to work productively in a group setting. In my class of 30 students, I had students in groups of 5 but this could easily be modified to work with smaller groups as well. I wouldn't recommend getting larger than 5 or students will have a hard time contributing to their group.

Setting the Stage - [3 min]
Hand out “There’s Been a Crime!” and Clue #1 papers, one of each per group

• Option 1
  • Read through it together with groups following along
• Option 2
  • Give time for the groups to read through it on their own
  • Popcorn share out what you know from this beginning sheet

Outline the Objective – “Who destroyed Wilma Wilshire’s priceless antique vase?” - [5 min]

1. “In a moment, you will each go out into the field to collect evidence. There are 5 remaining clues, one for each person in your group. Just like in the real world, be diligent in recording your observations and inferences because you won’t be able to take the clue back with you.”
2. Have students fill out the “Clue Sign Up” for their group so they know who will be heading to each clue station
   1. The following differentiation hints might be useful to point out
      1. Clue 2 requires the strongest understanding of physics
      2. Clues 3 & 6 require the strongest understanding of mathematical modeling
      3. Clues 4 & 5 require several important details to record
3. Hand out the “Evidence Sheet”, one per person.
4. “You will each have 5 minutes with your clue. Be sure to record any information that you think may be important for your group because you not be allowed to return to the clue. Stay by your clue for the entire time so that all group members have time to fully analyze their clue”
5. Provide an opportunity for class to ask for clarifications about the process

Clue Time - [10 min]

1. Each group member goes to a different clue station (Clues 2-6 since Clue #1 in provided to the group) to collect as much relevant information as they can. They must spend the first 5 minutes of this time recording information without talking.
2. After 5 minutes have elapsed (or it is clear that everyone is done) provide 3-5 minutes for "clue groups" to put their minds together and discuss how they think their clue will be valuable to their group once they return. It's important that all students have recorded the key points because all clues are required to solve the mystery.
3. During this collaboration time, the teacher should complete the following check-ins:
   
   1. Clue #2 – Make sure that they all agree on a car acceleration (should be 3 m/s2)
      
   2. Clue #3 and #6  – Ask if their equations all work with the examples
      
   3. Clue #4 or #5 – they have the least info, they get to be KEEPERS OF THE MARKERS
      
      1. Their role is to ensure that everyone in their original group has an opportunity to share their own information once they come back together. How they choose to handle this responsibility is up to them. They don’t have to be the only ones to use the marker.
         

Pulling it Together - [25 min]

1. Invite students to return to their original groups.
   
2. “All clues are required to completely solve this mystery. Work together to make your evidence visible to the rest of your group but be mindful that they have important information to share as well. Once all the evidence is ‘out on the table’, you have the rest of the hour to work together to assemble your clues and make your conclusions”
   
3. As students are working, some groups of 4 may need a clue that they didn’t get to during the clue time. You can just provide them with that missing page once they have had a chance to share the rest of their information.

Conclusions - [10 min]

1. Once students are confident that they have solved the mystery, have them call you over and present the evidence that has informed their response.
2. There are two sources of evidence that support the same conclusion (impact speed of the vase and timing of the accelerating car) if they only provide one piece of evidence and there is still time remaining, challenge them that they do not yet have enough evidence to support their conclusion and that there are still some clues that they haven’t used.
3. Once they have found both pieces of evidence or there is only 5 minutes or so left in the period, give the group a conclusion page and instruct them to capture their ideas in a single conclusion statement.
4. Groups will naturally finish at different times, it is ok to have different levels of detail in the conclusion statements depending on how much time they have left.

The Answer - [0-5 min]
Depending on how students do with the task, you can end the period (or start the next period) by going over the solutions together as a class. If most groups get to the at least one of the solutions, it is usually best just to let the task naturally conclude with their conclusions. A teacher revealing the answer sometimes disrupts the feeling of personal discovery and solving a mystery.

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The Clues

​Each of the clues provide a piece of the puzzle but none of them provide enough information to solve the mystery on its own.

Not all of the information in the clues is needed but since students are only allowed to bring back their notes, it's important to capture everything that might have value once combined with the other clues in the group.

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Materials Needed

For clues 2-6 you should have the following:

• 2-3 printouts for the clue - enough for everyone to see but not enough for one clue per student
• Centralized location or table for students at the clue station to discuss

For each group you should have the following:

• Ruler - for measuring distances on the map in Clue #1
• Printed Pages (these are all included in the files below)
  • "There's Been a Crime" Introduction - So that students can refer back to the original scenario to compare with their clue information
  • Clue #1 - so that students can put the larger picture together as a team
  • Clue Sign Up - to help students organize and make sure that all clues are covered
  • Conclusion Sheet - for groups to make their evidence-based conclusions permanent
• Centralized location or table for students to make their clues visible to each other. The following may be useful for this space:
  • EXPO Neon Dry Erase Markers for students to write on the lab benches
  • Dry Erase Markers and Whiteboards
  • Chart Paper and Markers

For each student you should have:

• Evidence Notecard Sheets - for students to record information about their clues
• Access to the Kinematic equations -  I just have these posted in my classroom

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Files

Below are the files for the clues and supplementary materials. Please use and share freely for non-commercial purposes. If you have any questions or ideas, leave a comment below :)

Kinematics Crime Scene - Print Outs (pdf)
File Size:	1365 kb
File Type:	pdf

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Kinematics Crime Scene - Print Outs (editable)
File Size:	793 kb
File Type:	pptx

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Kinematics Crime Scene - Solutions (pdf)
File Size:	1056 kb
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Lesson Plan - Kinematics Crime Scene (pdf)
File Size:	1127 kb
File Type:	pdf

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Lesson Plan - Kinematics Crime Scene (editable)
File Size:	59 kb
File Type:	docx

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Equation Sheet (pdf)
File Size:	763 kb
File Type:	pdf

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