When Zeus (my shiatzu dog) was younger, we had to keep him confined to a back bedroom during the day so that he wouldn’t scratch at the door when we were at work. We had a baby gate that was supposed to keep him confined, but he kept escaping. We weren’t sure if he was jumping over or somehow climbing it. The gate was 3 feet tall; Zeus’ legs are about 10 inches long and he weighs 11 lbs. What is the minimum average force he would have to use to push himself off the ground to get over the gate?
Draw a simplified picture of what is happening in the problem
(2 pts)
• What are you actually trying to solve for? (1 pt)
• What information do you already have? (1 pt)
• What information do you need to calculate or look up? (2 pt)
• What details of the problem are you going to ignore or make
simpler (e.g. simplifying the object shape, neglecting physical
things like wind resistance)? (1 pt)
Solution Plan Synthesize the information above into a detailed,
orderly plan for what you are going to do.
• Write down the physics concepts/laws you will be using (2 pts)
• Set up and write down the equations for this specific problem
(2 pts)
• Identify what you will calculate (1 pt).
Execution Solve the problem/answer the question as you
understand it. Do your calculations algebraically and plug in numbers
as the last step. (4 points)
Reflection Does your answer make sense? If not, where did you go
wrong and why? Consider things like...
• does your answer make sense in extreme cases (e.g. when
things go to zero, or infinity)? (1 pt)
• does your answer increase or decrease as key features
increase or decrease? (1 pt)
• are the units consistent throughout the whole calculation? (1
pt)
• does it match your expectations or previous problems (e.g.,
does the size of the answer seem reasonable, or does it
depend on the variables you would expect it to depend on?) (1