David Trowbridge
Microsoft Corporation
The development of Graphs & Tracks was based upon widely regarded educational research conducted by The Physics Education Group at the UniversityofWashington, whose findings uncovered common misconceptions students have about graphing concepts.
Although students are introduced to the topic of graphs and motion early in their study of physics, educational research shows that most cannot apply the concepts of position, velocity, and acceleration to real motion. Put your students on the right track with Graphs & Tracks, a goal-oriented simulation package that underscores the connection between animated motion and graphs.
Graphs & Tracks simulates a ball rolling on inclined tracks and consists of two segments. In Part I, From Graphs to Motion, students study graphs of position, velocity, and acceleration versus time for given examples of one-dimensional motion. They then try to set up an arrangement of sloping tracks so that a ball rolling on the tracks will reproduce the motion shown in the graphs. Part II, From Motion to Graphs, reverses this concept: students watch a ball rolling along a set of tracks and then try to sketch graphs that correspond to that motion.
Graphs & Tracks can be used by students independently or in pairs. Many find the competitive aspect to be a powerful motivator: they like to make up their own problems and challenge one another. The program also serves as the ideal complement to activities involving sonic rangers and microcomputer-based laboratories. With a sonic ranger, students can generate motion graphs by moving their own bodies forward and back in front of the motion detector. 40 pp.
System Requirements:
The PC version requires a PC with the following features:
VGA graphics
640 K RAM
DOS 3.3 or later
Microsoft- compatible mouse
3.5" disk drive
Hard disk with 1.4 MB of space available
Math coprocessor (highly recommended)
Printer
The Macintosh version requires a Macintosh Plus computer or later with the following features:
System software version 6.0 or higher
Hard disk with 1 MB of space available
Printer
EDUCOM/NCRIPTAL Award
California Instructional Technology Clearinghouse Desirable
System software version6.0.7or higher
8 MB RAM or better
CD-ROM drive (MOTION can be run from the CD-ROM)
Quick Time 2.1 or later (installer included with the package)
Computers in Physics
Award for Educational Software
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