Indiana Science HS-PS2-4
The Standard
Use mathematical representations of Newton’s Law of Gravitation and Coulomb’s Law to describe and predict the gravitational and electrostatic forces between objects. [Clarification Statement: Emphasis is on both quantitative and conceptual descriptions of gravitational and electric fields.]
Indiana Academic Standards for Science (2023) · Forces and Interactions
Teacher's field guide
What This Standard Means
What Students Need to Do
- Students use masses, charges, and distance to calculate gravitational and electric forces. They use field strength and direction to predict the force on a test mass or charge.
What Mastery Looks Like
- A student calculates both forces in newtons and identifies whether the objects attract or repel. They explain why doubling the distance cuts force and field strength to one-fourth.
Common Misconceptions
- Students may think doubling the distance halves the force. Some think electric forces always repel, or draw a negative charge’s field arrows pointing outward. Others confuse field strength with the force on a particular test object.
How to Assess It
- Exit ticket: Two 1 kg masses and two +1 μC charges are each 1 m apart in separate setups. Given G = 6.67 × 10⁻¹¹ and k = 9 × 10⁹, calculate each force, state its direction, and find its value at 2 m.
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
Move two labeled object cards along a meter stick from 1 m apart to 0.5 m apart; calculate how each force changes.
Draw field arrows around a positive charge, a negative charge, and Earth; explain which way a positive test charge or small mass moves.
Give teams cards with masses, charges, and distances; have them rank the resulting forces, then check their rankings with the formulas.
Give students Earth’s mass, radius, and a satellite height of 400 km; have them compare gravitational field strength at both heights.
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Printable HS-PS2-4 Worksheet
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