if you teach you kids physics, what are the most important/basic 5 concepts you will tell them

[cheetaman]

if you teach you kids physics, what are the most important/basic 5 concepts you will tell  them first.

[koti]

51 minutes ago, cheetaman said:

if you teach you kids physics, what are the most important/basic 5 concepts you will tell  them first.

The way I see how teaching your kids physics or any other area of science should be done is to implant curiosity in them by doing cool, interesting stuff with them. This way a kid will be striving to find things out on his/her own which gives far more profound results than teaching bare concepts. Do experiments with magnets, fire, dry ice, blowing stuff up, weights, buy a microscope, a telescope, the possibilities are endless. Steer the kid to be genuinly interested. 

Edited March 9, 2018 by koti

[Strange]

I agree with koti; the important thing is to get them asking questions and then, even more importantly, get them to think about how they could answer the questions. Including the importance of doing a rough calculation to check the validity of an idea (even if you have to guess at the numbers involved - e.g. Fermi estimates).

In terms of basic physics concepts that would (at the right time) equip them to do this, I think I would choose:

1. Newton's laws of motion (these can be summarised in one sentence, so I am not counting it as 3 things!)

2. The fact we can separate out vector components of force, motion, etc. -- this amazed me when I learnt it and it still seems remarkable!

3. Newton's law of gravitation

These three allow you to solve quite a range of real world problems and discover surprising facts (like, all masses fall at the same rate).

4. The fact that some properties are conserved and that this is related to fundamental symmetries (and point out that this was proved by a woman, as science so often seems dominated by male figures)

5. Point out that all the above are only approximations and that they will find out that the real world is actually more complex and more interesting.

[Strange]

2 hours ago, Strange said:

some properties are conserved and that this is related to fundamental symmetries

https://cosmosmagazine.com/physics/woman-who-invented-abstract-algebra

[Bender]

On top of the excellent points above, I think the general attitude is most important:

- put on a documentary when they ask for tv. They might like it much more than the umpteenth repetition of Dora.

- confront them with the value of evidence based science and the scientific method.

- nurture their natural curiosity. If you don't know the answer, discuss it and look it up together. Most likely, someone will have made an excellent YouTube video about it.

- never assume they are too young to understand

- evolution, at some point also with the reasoning some people use to deny it and why those people are dead wrong.

- basic concepts of quantum mechanics and relativity. I'm convinced that the maleable mind of children is at least as capable of understanding them as an adult. To convey the wonder, it is not necessary to delve into the complex math.

- when encountering a bug, pick it up and study it

- when walking outdoors, marvel at the wonderful plants that can be encountered even between the cracks in the pavement.

-...

[J.C.MacSwell]

On 3/10/2018 at 9:23 AM, Bender said:

On top of the excellent points above, I think the general attitude is most important:

- put on a documentary when they ask for tv. They might like it much more than the umpteenth repetition of Dora.

- confront them with the value of evidence based science and the scientific method.

- nurture their natural curiosity. If you don't know the answer, discuss it and look it up together. Most likely, someone will have made an excellent YouTube video about it.

- never assume they are too young to understand

- evolution, at some point also with the reasoning some people use to deny it and why those people are dead wrong.

- basic concepts of quantum mechanics and relativity. I'm convinced that the maleable mind of children is at least as capable of understanding them as an adult. To convey the wonder, it is not necessary to delve into the complex math.

- when encountering a bug, pick it up and study it

- when walking outdoors, marvel at the wonderful plants that can be encountered even between the cracks in the pavement.

-...

Yeah. Go Physics! An early sting or bite should surely keep them from too much focus on Biology...

[Bender]

I should have added that there are no dangerous bugs where I live, and its quite easy to avoid those that can actually puncture human skin. ;-)