Using A Force Table To Motivate Systems
Force tables are used in physics labs to motivate the
difference between size and direction of force vectors. We have adapted the
force table as a way to motivate how systems of equations are used to model movement
in two dimensions. We have focused on the dynamic aspects and have taken the
force table out of the physics lab and brought it into the mathematics class
room. We use the apparatus throughout a course to demonstrate how to
construct systems of equations for both the static and dynamic problem, root
finding for the static problem when the balance point is unknown, systems of
differential equations to describe the
dynamic problem, and to motivate the idea of the potential.
We will discuss how this one experiment allows the students explore the idea of ``path'' and its parameterizations, equilibrium, and non-linear systems of equations. The force table allows students to engage in an hands-on-experiment that is both challenging and exciting. Moreover, this one experiment requires that the students pull together a wide variety of topics to examine one particular problem.