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Re: [Phys-l] line of action



I think that's one of the beautiful things about physics is that there's rarely only one way to solve a problem.

Mike
----- Original Message ----- From: "John Denker" <jsd@av8n.com>
To: "Forum for Physics Educators" <phys-l@carnot.physics.buffalo.edu>
Sent: Wednesday, September 08, 2010 8:30 PM
Subject: Re: [Phys-l] line of action


It is always fun to assign the yo-yo problem
http://www.av8n.com/physics/ill-posed.htm#sec-yo-yo
and see the ways in which various students solve it.

-- There is an inelegant, plodding method;

-- There is PVW, which is easier and better, if you
are clever enough to think of it; and

-- There is a third method which is even more clever
and more elegant.

=====

It's really good exercise to find _more than one way_
of solving this problem.

It's hard enough to motivate students to solve a given
homework problem once, let alone more than once. But
still, it is really good exercise. Being able to see
things in more than one way is an important higher-level
thinking skill.
_______________________________________________
Forum for Physics Educators
Phys-l@carnot.physics.buffalo.edu
https://carnot.physics.buffalo.edu/mailman/listinfo/phys-l

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