This week, I decided to get the AP physics class onto the laptops to begin a project in visual python (vpython)
We are beginning a unit our unit Newton's Law of Universal Gravitation. Since it is hard to do experiments on an entire solar system, I want to see if we can get the students to program particles interacting via the gravitational force, and perhaps see if they obey Kepler's Laws.
To get started I decided to give the students a simple inquiry based problem:
The students started with a real bouncy-ball. They dropped it from a given height and then calculated its rebound velocity.
The challenge problem that the students are to solve is to program a simulation of a bouncing ball that models the real one they've been given. They are to reproduce the first bounce in their program, predict how high the ball will bounce in the 5th, 6th and 7th bounce.
To get there, I had them go through a tutorial in which they learned the basics of the language.
I then gave them some code of a ball dropping, that they will modify using the tutorial code to bounce.
This is my first time having students use Vpython in the class, so we will see how it goes.
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