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Re: Setting up problems

On Thursday, October 9, 2003, at 11:04 AM, David T. Marx wrote:

. . . Students can tell me, if I give them the mass, what the
potential energy is at each location.
The fact that the mass isn't given really makes them crazy. They do
not even know how to start the
problem without it. . . .

What I tell them is this. If you feel that the mass is
needed (but not given numerically) just enter it as m
and see what happens. In many problems m cancels.
If it does not cancel then leave it as m in the answer.
Ludwik Kowalski