A*R*C*S

Section 2.16 ARC*S

At this point, you have learned a wide range of skills that you can apply to a physics context, including:

Identifying assumptions, as shown in Figure 2.5.1
Drawing graphs and other representations, such as Representation 2.9.1
Calculating an unknown quantity, as shown in Figure 2.2.4
Checking units to make sense of an answer, as described in Section 2.3
Making sense of a symbolic equation using covariation, as described in Section 2.12

While each of these skills is useful on its own, they are most powerful when used together to help you examine complicated contexts that often draw on real-world experiences. Throughout this text, big activities where you should carry out all of the steps above are labeled A*R*C*S: Analyze-Represent-Calculate-Sensemake. The figure below shows all the individual steps to help you keep track of them.

Figure 2.16.1. Steps to follow when you consider a big activity using A*R*C*S.

Below is an example of using all the A*R*C*S steps.

Figure 2.16.2. An example of using the A*R*C*S steps.

Exercises Practice Activity

1. ARC*S - Stopping a Car.

You are driving a car on a residential street when a ball bounces in front of you and you slam on the brakes. How much time does it take for you to stop? How much distance have you traveled in this time?

Tip.

Exercise 2.15.2 for constant acceleration will probably be helpful! You should also estimate a reasonable initial velocity for a car on a residential street and a reasonable acceleration for a car slamming on its brakes¹.

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Section 2.16 A*R*C*S

Exercises Practice Activity

1. A*R*C*S - Stopping a Car.

Section 2.16 ARC*S

1. ARC*S - Stopping a Car.