Chronology Current Month Current Thread Current Date
[Year List] [Month List (current year)] [Date Index] [Thread Index] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Date Prev] [Date Next]

Re: [Phys-l] Teaching torque



Some
teachers think that subscripts should be avoided in elementary
courses. I think subscripts serve a useful purpose in many cases.

Leigh

Whether it be torque or any other subject, I _insist_ on subscripts
(mnemonic, not numerical) - they must always practice saying equations as
sentences, and the subscripts tie the variables to the situation at hand.
Equation-hunting is a constant danger, but forcing students to add
subscripts makes them at least think about the physical situation that
they're applying their found equation to. Ideally, this helps head off
errors at worst and gets them in a mode of physical thinking (rather than
letter-juggling to find some expression for 'x' or 't' or whatever) at
best. Ideally.

Josh Gates