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ERIC Number: EJ926925
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2011-May
Pages: 1
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0031-921X
EISSN: N/A
An Inexpensive Mechanical Model for Projectile Motion
Kagan, David
Physics Teacher, v49 n5 p265 May 2011
As experienced physicists, we see the beauty and simplicity of projectile motion. It is merely the superposition of uniform linear motion along the direction of the initial velocity vector and the downward motion due to the constant acceleration of gravity. We see the kinematic equations as just the mathematical machinery to perform the calculations. What do our students see? Likely, most see no deeper than the operational understanding needed to use the kinematic equations. Described below is a device (shown in Fig. 1) that illustrates the physicist's view of projectile motion. It can be used as a classroom demonstration or as a project for your students, and it costs less than three dollars to make.
American Association of Physics Teachers. One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740. Tel: 301-209-3300; Fax: 301-209-0845; e-mail: pubs@aapt.org; Web site: http://scitation.aip.org/tpt
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: N/A
Audience: Teachers
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A