Abstract
As part of a first-year college Introductory Physics course, I have students construct an Excel® spreadsheet based on the differential equation for pendulum motion (we take a pendulum having a light bar rather than a string, so it can go ‘over the top’). In extensive discussions with the students, I find that forcing them to make the spreadsheet themselves, entering velocities as position differences divided by time, etc., leads to a firmer grasp of basic calculus concepts. And, the instant graphical response of the finished product gives a sense of accomplishment as well as a lot of fun while building intuition about pendulum motion.
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© 2005 Springer
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Fowler, M. (2005). Using Excel to Simulate Pendulum Motion and Maybe Understand Calculus a Little Better. In: Matthews, M.R., Gauld, C.F., Stinner, A. (eds) The Pendulum. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/1-4020-3526-8_30
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/1-4020-3526-8_30
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-1-4020-3525-8
Online ISBN: 978-1-4020-3526-5
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