Forces, Fields and Energy
IB Course Companion
Gravitational Force and Field, Ch 6, pp. 257-264 Electric Force and Field, Ch 5, pp. pp. 169-179 Magnetic Force and Field, Ch 5, pp. 227-239 Fields and Energy, Ch 10, pp. 391-425 Textbook Problems Ch 6, p. 266 #12a, 13a Ch 5, p. 240 #1, 5 Ch 5, p. 244 #17, 19, 20 Ch10, p. 426 #1, 3, 5, 6 Assignments
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Theory of Knowledge Connections
Although gravitational and electrostatic forces decrease with the square of distance and will only become zero at infinite separation, from a practical standpoint they become negligible at much smaller distances. How do scientists decide when an effect is so small that it can be ignored?
Nature of Science
The move from direct, observable actions being responsible for influence on an object to acceptance of a field's "action at a distance" required a paradigm shift in the world of science.
The ability to apply field theory to the unobservable (charges) and the massively scaled (motion of satellites) required scientists to develop new ways to investigate, analyze and report findings to a general public used to scientific discoveries based on tangible and discernible evidence.
Although gravitational and electrostatic forces decrease with the square of distance and will only become zero at infinite separation, from a practical standpoint they become negligible at much smaller distances. How do scientists decide when an effect is so small that it can be ignored?
Nature of Science
The move from direct, observable actions being responsible for influence on an object to acceptance of a field's "action at a distance" required a paradigm shift in the world of science.
The ability to apply field theory to the unobservable (charges) and the massively scaled (motion of satellites) required scientists to develop new ways to investigate, analyze and report findings to a general public used to scientific discoveries based on tangible and discernible evidence.