ERIC Number: EJ1208102
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2019-Mar
Pages: 2
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0031-921X
EISSN: N/A
A Variable-Mass Snowball Rolling down a Snowy Slope
Rubin, Scott
Physics Teacher, v53 n3 p150-151 Mar 2019
The stereotypical situation of a snowball picking up both mass and speed as it rolls without slipping down a hill provides an opportunity to explore the general form of both translational and rotational versions of Newton's second law through multivariable differential equations. With a few reasonable assumptions, it can be shown that the snowball reaches a terminal acceleration. While the model may not be completely physically accurate, the exercise and the resulting equation are useful and accessible to students in a second year physics course, arguably.
Descriptors: Science Instruction, Physics, Motion, Scientific Concepts, Scientific Principles, Equations (Mathematics), Teaching Methods
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://aapt.scitation.org/journal/pte
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: N/A
Audience: Teachers
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A