Additional teaching tools for this course can be found on the website for Vector Mechanics for Engineers: Statics, by Beer, Johnston, and Clausen.

Phases of a Collision

Summary: This is a simple demonstration of the phases of a collision for central impact. Two squeeze balls are used to show the phases.

Projectile Motion

Summary: This is a simple demonstration of the basic principles and behavior underlying projectile motion. A Nerf gun is used to show that projectile motion can be modeled by a particle having a vertical component of motion with constant acceleration, and a horizontal component with constant velocity (zero acceleration).

A Day at the Races - Moment of Inertia

Summary: This is a demonstration of the basic principles underlying the behavior of rotating bodies. A race between two different cylinders on a ramp is used to show that the closer the mass of an object is concentrated to an axis of rotation, the faster it will spin because it has a lower moment of inertia, which is a measure of a body’s resistance to rotation.

RC (Rectilinear Car) Motion

Summary: This is a simple demonstration of the different between a particle’s coordinates, position, displacement, and total distance traveled. A remote-controlled car is used to represent a particle in rectilinear motion and demonstrate the distinctions.