This packet is everything a parent or guide needs to assess Unit 06 at home — learning targets, the answers that count as correct, the mastery rubric, calibration examples, and a clipboard score sheet. No multiple-choice test: the student shows mastery by timing an oscillator and proving what its period does and does not depend on.
By the end of the Simple Harmonic Motion unit, a student should be able to:
Six criteria, each judged Not yet / Approaching / Mastered (Page 3).
Time many swings; find what sets the period.
The student says what the period does and does not depend on (Page 4).
Parameter varied, timings, and plotted relationship kept distinct.
You are making a decision, not adding up points. For each criterion, decide whether the work is Not yet, Approaching, or Mastered — the column language tells you which. A criterion counts as mastered only when the student can both take the timing and explain what sets the period. A student carries three tokens per term; one token buys a re-do of one criterion on another day, so a single bad afternoon never sinks the unit.
Accept any answer in the synonyms column — they are pre-approved as equivalent. The third column flags the confusions that look close but are not yet, so you can coach precisely.
| Canonical answer | Accepted synonyms | Common confusion / discriminator |
|---|---|---|
| Restoring force & oscillation | ||
| Simple harmonic motion | SHM | Needs a restoring force proportional to displacement — not any back-and-forth |
| Restoring force | spring-back force | Points toward the middle; larger the farther you go |
| Amplitude | maximum displacement | How far it swings; in SHM it does not set the period |
| Displacement | distance from the middle | Measured from the rest position; positive or negative |
| Period & energy | ||
| Period (T) | time for one cycle | Seconds per cycle; the reciprocal of frequency |
| Frequency (f) | cycles per second | Measured in hertz; f = 1/T |
| Kinetic energy | energy of motion | Greatest at the middle, where speed is highest |
| Potential energy | stored energy | Greatest at the turning points, where speed is zero |
| Criterion | Not yet | Approaching | Mastered |
|---|---|---|---|
| Restoring force & the SHM condition | Does not connect oscillation to any force. | Knows a spring pulls back but not that force is proportional to displacement. | Identifies the restoring-force condition (force opposite and proportional to displacement) and recognizes it in springs and pendulums. |
| Period & frequency | Uses period and frequency interchangeably. | Relates them but cannot say what changes each. | Predicts how period depends on mass and spring stiffness (and on length for a pendulum) and what it is independent of. |
| Energy in oscillation | Thinks energy disappears at the turning points. | Knows energy converts but misplaces where each type peaks. | Tracks the kinetic–potential exchange and identifies where each is maximum and where speed is greatest. |
| Graphs of SHM | Cannot sketch displacement against time. | Sketches displacement but not velocity or acceleration. | Sketches and relates displacement, velocity, and acceleration versus time, including their phase relationships. |
| Lab technique (period measurement) | Times a single swing; large timing error. | Times multiple swings but does not vary a parameter systematically. | Times many oscillations, varies length or mass systematically, and plots the relationship with uncertainty. |
| Integration (cross-domain) | Treats the science as isolated facts; makes no cross-domain connection. | Names a link to history, reading, or writing but cannot defend why it matters. | Connects the unit to its anchor across History · Reading · Writing (plus chosen electives) and defends why the connection matters. |
The split between Approaching and Mastered is independence: a mastered student names what the period is independent of, not just what changes it. Ask “what does not affect the period, and how do you know?”
Read these before you grade. They show what Mastered and Not yet actually sound like, plus the edge cases where you should coach rather than decide on the spot.
Student: ______________________________________ Date: _______________ Guide: _________________________
| # | Criterion | Decision | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Restoring force & the SHM condition | NY / Appr / Mast | |
| 2 | Period & frequency | NY / Appr / Mast | |
| 3 | Energy in oscillation | NY / Appr / Mast | |
| 4 | Graphs of SHM | NY / Appr / Mast | |
| 5 | Lab technique (period measurement) | NY / Appr / Mast | |
| 6 | Integration (cross-domain) | NY / Appr / Mast |
☐ No ☐ Yes — for criterion: __________ Tokens remaining: ☐ 3 ☐ 2 ☐ 1 ☐ 0
NY = Not yet · Appr = Approaching · Mast = Mastered · Unsure between two levels? Circle the lower one and note what a re-do would need.