For my usage of the Digital Age assignment, I was able to use the Desmos graphing calculator to demonstrate the impulse equation for my students. This program could express, graphically, what was taking place in the physical world. As described in my previous post, we could change the variables and see the results on the graph. The variables that could be changed were initial velocity, mass, time, and force.
To demonstrate this, kinesthetically and visually for our students, we had one student stand at one end of the room and then I was at the other. I proceeded to throw a water balloon to him. He caught it by gently cushioning it safety in his hands. He threw it back to me and I did the same thing. We continued to get farther and farther apart, cushioning the balloon through the whole demonstration.
This demonstration showed them that to decrease the force on an object, you have to extend the time of the impact. This is what it means to cushion the water balloon. By taking the balloon in slowly, it gives it more time to slow down and the impact is not as harsh (the force is less). That is why we instinctively know that we have to gently catch and extend the time of the force when we are catching it.
The Desmos graphing program was a great supplement to this demonstration. After the demonstration, I was able to use this program to show how it relates graphically to what they just saw and to the equation, I=∆t∙F, which they already know. Using this program they were able to able to see that as the total impulse stayed constant (the balloon starting with an initial velocity and then it coming to rest), the force would go down as the time of impact increased. This was able to be shown graphically which greatly added to the discussion.
The demonstration I believe is the most important aspect of this lesson but I also believe that there is a value to the technology piece that was added. Students were able to see it not only visually, but could then tie it back in with the math and the graphs. This is a very important piece that often gets overlooked.
The link is listed below.
Impulse Program
To demonstrate this, kinesthetically and visually for our students, we had one student stand at one end of the room and then I was at the other. I proceeded to throw a water balloon to him. He caught it by gently cushioning it safety in his hands. He threw it back to me and I did the same thing. We continued to get farther and farther apart, cushioning the balloon through the whole demonstration.
This demonstration showed them that to decrease the force on an object, you have to extend the time of the impact. This is what it means to cushion the water balloon. By taking the balloon in slowly, it gives it more time to slow down and the impact is not as harsh (the force is less). That is why we instinctively know that we have to gently catch and extend the time of the force when we are catching it.
The Desmos graphing program was a great supplement to this demonstration. After the demonstration, I was able to use this program to show how it relates graphically to what they just saw and to the equation, I=∆t∙F, which they already know. Using this program they were able to able to see that as the total impulse stayed constant (the balloon starting with an initial velocity and then it coming to rest), the force would go down as the time of impact increased. This was able to be shown graphically which greatly added to the discussion.
The demonstration I believe is the most important aspect of this lesson but I also believe that there is a value to the technology piece that was added. Students were able to see it not only visually, but could then tie it back in with the math and the graphs. This is a very important piece that often gets overlooked.
The link is listed below.
Impulse Program