Use these targets, vocabulary, rubrics, examples, and score sheet with the instructor's approved lesson and procedure. This is an assessment companion, not a complete lesson or safety authorization.
By the end of the Kinematics & Motion unit, a student should be able to:
Five science criteria plus separately reported integration (Page 3).
Position and time captured with photogates or video — measured live.
The student reasons from a motion graph aloud (Page 4 anchors).
Contemporaneous record of times, distances, and the graphs drawn from them.
You are making a decision, not adding up points. For each criterion, decide whether the work is Developing, Proficient, or Mastery — the column language tells you which. A criterion counts as mastered only when the student can both run the technique and justify the motion physics behind it. Each student has three tokens per term; each token retries one rubric criterion. Approved accommodations, equipment failures, and approved absences are handled separately and do not consume these tokens.
Accept listed synonyms; use the distinction column to resolve near-matches.
| Canonical answer | Accepted synonyms | Common confusion / discriminator |
|---|---|---|
| Describing motion | ||
| Position | location; x | Displacement is the change in position; distance is path length |
| Velocity | speed with direction; v | Speed is the magnitude; velocity also carries a sign / direction |
| Acceleration | rate of change of velocity; a | Can be nonzero while slowing; then it points opposite the velocity |
| Displacement | change in position; Δx | A vector; not the same as total distance traveled |
| Motion graphs | ||
| Slope | rise over run; gradient | Slope of x–t is velocity; slope of v–t is acceleration |
| Area under the curve | accumulated value | Area under v–t is displacement; under a–t is change in velocity |
| x–t graph | position–time graph | Its slope gives velocity, point by point |
| v–t graph | velocity–time graph | Slope gives acceleration; area gives displacement |
| Free fall & projectiles | ||
| Free fall | motion under gravity alone | g ≈ 9.8 m/s² downward; independent of mass |
| Acceleration due to gravity | g | Constant near Earth’s surface; same for all falling objects |
| Projectile motion | 2-D motion under gravity | Horizontal and vertical motion are independent, linked only by time |
| Range | horizontal distance | Set by launch speed, angle, and flight time — not by mass |
| Criterion | Developing | Proficient | Mastery |
|---|---|---|---|
| Position, velocity & acceleration | Uses the words interchangeably; ignores sign and direction. | Distinguishes the three but mixes up the sign of acceleration when slowing down. | Separates all three cleanly, reasons with signs and directions, and explains why an object can slow while accelerating. |
| Motion graphs (x–t, v–t, a–t) | Cannot read a value or slope off a motion graph. | Reads points but confuses slope and area when translating between graphs. | Reads, sketches, and translates between all three graphs — slope gives rate, area gives accumulation — fluently. |
| Kinematic equations | Grabs an equation at random and plugs numbers. | Picks a workable equation but mishandles a missing variable. | Selects the right constant-acceleration equation for the knowns and unknowns and justifies the choice. |
| Free fall & projectile motion | Treats a projectile as moving in a single lumped direction. | Separates axes but couples the horizontal and vertical times incorrectly. | Analyzes horizontal and vertical motion independently, linked only by time, and predicts range and flight time. |
| Lab technique (timing & motion capture) | Records times sloppily; ignores reaction-time error. | Collects data but does not repeat trials or average. | Uses photogates or video analysis to capture clean, repeated data and reports it with uncertainty. |
| Integration (cross-domain) | Makes no supported connection between the source and the science. | Uses the source but needs help connecting evidence, writing, or limitations to the science. | Independently connects History, Reading, and Writing using a cited source, appropriate evidence, a limitation, and a scientific explanation. |
Work down the criteria one at a time. Ask the student to reason it out rather than recall — “what does the slope of this v–t graph tell you?” Reading the graph as the story of a moving object is where Proficient and Mastery separate. Reading a value is Proficient; explaining why the graph looks that way is Mastery.
Read these before you grade. They show what Mastery and Developing actually sound like, plus the edge cases where you should coach rather than decide on the spot.
Student: ______________________________________ Date: _______________ Guide: _________________________
| # | Criterion | Decision | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Position, velocity & acceleration | Dev / Prof / Mast | |
| 2 | Motion graphs (x–t, v–t, a–t) | Dev / Prof / Mast | |
| 3 | Kinematic equations | Dev / Prof / Mast | |
| 4 | Free fall & projectile motion | Dev / Prof / Mast | |
| 5 | Lab technique (timing & motion capture) | Dev / Prof / Mast | |
| 6 | Integration (cross-domain) | Dev / Prof / Mast |
☐ No ☐ Yes — for criterion: __________
Tokens left this term after this session (choose one): ☐ 3 ☐ 2 ☐ 1 ☐ None left
Dev = Developing · Prof = Proficient · Mast = Mastery · Unsure between two levels? Circle the lower one and note what a re-do would need.