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Computer simulations combined with experiments for calculus-based physics laboratory course

Physics Education 2018-07-16 v3

Abstract

This paper is presenting a set of laboratory classes to be taught as a part of a 1-year calculus-based physics class. It is composed out of 7 modules designed to bring together experiments and computer simulations (numerical simulations). Each module uses both simulations and experiments to address a phenomenon under study, and lasts for 3 weeks (21 weeks total for the whole set). Wolfram Mathematica is used for computer simulations. Topics are: Motion with a drag, Pendulum with an arbitrary amplitude, Magnus effect, Centripetal force acting on a pendulum, A ball rolling from paths of various shapes, Doppler shift and Fourier transformation, Equipotential lines. These laboratory classes were taught for 2 years at Princeton International School of Mathematics and Science.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.1804.09264,
  title  = {Computer simulations combined with experiments for calculus-based physics laboratory course},
  author = {Sergey V. Samsonau},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1804.09264},
  year   = {2018}
}

Comments

Simplified code for lab 7. Extended introduction