Year 10 students had a unique chance to explore the topic of vectors featuring a special guest. They welcomed Mathematics teacher, Mr Andrej Bunjac, who helped their Physics teacher, Mrs Ana Vlašić, deliver a lecture.

What are vectors?

In the context of the Year 10 introductory course for Physics, and especially kinematics of motion, the topic of vectors plays a key role, as they are the main mathematical tool used to describe displacement, velocity and acceleration, as well as many other measurable quantities in Physics.

Distance vs displacement and speed vs velocity

The lesson started with Andrej’s presentation and introduction of the Cartesian coordinate system to the students and a heated discussion, as the first-timers tried to grasp the concept of a usual mathematical object where addition rules as they know them are broken and everything comes back to geometry.

After Andrej’s introduction, the Physics teacher took over and introduced the aspects of motion in physics. The students were asked to describe the displacement of a ball that went from one student to another by adding individual displacements between each two students.

Learning through software and innovative approach

The Physics and Mathematics teachers concluded the lecture by giving the students access to a software on their iPads where they can play around with vectors and observe their results in real time.

Savremena’s students learnt about other vectors, such as forces and velocities and the way they affect the motion of a body. International School Savremena promotes innovative approaches to teaching, and this project is one of the methods used to present learning as a creative and inspirational activity.