In the physics teaching community, Tracker is well known as a user-friendly open source video analysis software, authored by Douglas Brown. With this tool, the user can trace markers indicated on a video or on stroboscopic photos and perform kinematic analyses. Tracker also includes a data modeling tool that allows one to fit some theoretical…

A basketball player attempting a free throw has two parameters under his or her control: the angle of elevation and the force with which the ball is thrown. We compute upper and lower bounds for the initial velocity for suitable values of the angle of elevation, generating a subset of the configuration space of all successful free throws. A…

In this paper we describe an interdisciplinary course on dynamics that is appropriate for nonscience majors. This course introduces ideas about mathematical modeling using examples based on pendulums, chemical kinetics, and population dynamics. The unique emphasis for a nonmajors course is on chemical reactions as dynamical systems that do more…

In this paper, we give a detailed account of the design principles and construction of activities designed for learning about the relationships between position, velocity and acceleration, and corresponding kinematics graphs. Our approach is model-based, that is, it focuses attention on the idea that students constructed their own models--in the…

The loop-the-loop demonstration can be easily adapted to study the kinematics of projectile motion, when the moving body falls inside the apparatus. Video capturing software can be used to reveal peculiar geometrical effects of this simple but educational experiment.