SHS2 Physics · Semester 1 Week 10: Kinematics

Lesson notes

Learning Objectives

Indicator: 2.1.3.LI.3 - Explain banking and skidding.

By the end of the lesson, learners can:

Define banking of roads and explain why roads are banked at bends and curves.
Explain the concept of skidding and identify the physical conditions that cause a vehicle to skid.
Derive and apply the formula tan θ = v² / (rg) to calculate the banking angle, maximum safe speed, or radius of a curved path.
Discuss real-world applications of banking, including roads, railway tracks, and velodrome cycling tracks.
Justify, using the physics of circular motion, how banking reduces the risk of skidding and improves safety on Ghanaian roads.

Sign in with your phone number to read the full note and download the GES plan - free.

Sign in with phone number

Curriculum details

Strand: Mechanics and Matter (Strand 1)
Sub-strand: Kinematics (1.3)
Content standard: 2.1.3.CS.2 - Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of circular motion. 2.1.3.LO.2 Use the concept of circular motion to explain how the earth is kept in its path.
Indicator: 2.1.3.LI.3 - Explain banking and skidding.
Suggested placement: Semester 1, Week 10 (Week 10 of the year)
Our suggestion, laid out in curriculum order across three terms of twelve weeks. NaCCA does not fix the week, so follow your school's scheme of learning.
Source document note: The official curriculum document has a fault in this entry, so the curriculum text above is transcribed exactly as printed:

exemplars - p.101: the page prints this as the stacked fraction tan theta = v^2/rg; the text layer flattens the numerator, the fraction bar and the denominator onto separate lines, so the characters are all present and their arrangement is not
Curriculum reference: NaCCA curriculum document, p. 101

Exemplars (from the NaCCA curriculum)

Talk for Learning:
- Let learners discuss applications of circular motion: i. banking of road and negotiating a bend ii. centrifuge iii. conical pendulum
𝑣 2
- Guide learners to deduce the formular tan 𝜃 = where v is the maximum 𝑟𝑔 allowed speed, r is the radius of the circle, g is the acceleration due to gravity and 𝜃 is the banking angle.
Explore contributions of vulnerable groups in the class.
Assessment (2.1.3.AS.3). The document marks these depth-of-knowledge levels for this indicator: Level 3 Strategic reasoning.
Teaching and Learning Resources:
- Audio-visuals
- Internet
- Projectors
- YouTube
- Interactive virtual laboratory