A FIRST Encouter with Physics

[StevenB]

I've begun working on a document entitled "A FIRST Encounter with Physics". The idea is to present a basic introduction to some of the physics concepts we most frequently deal with in FRC, so that students who haven't taken physics yet can participate in the design process at a deeper level.
I've observed that most students get stuck in the realm of "I think xyz would work...", often because they lack to tools to move on to "I know xyz would work...". I've seen teams have debates about whether the window motor is strong enough to drive their mechanism, rather than doing the calculations and knowing for sure. This project is an attempt to fix that.

The attached document is an early revision, and I'm posting it now to show you a small sample and to get your feedback. I welcome comments and suggestions on what I've written so far, as well as particular concepts and applications that would be good to add.
If you're interested in helping, whether writing, creating diagrams and illustrations, editing, or anything else, let me know - I'd love to have this be a community effort.

Edit: More current version of the document here

[,4lex S.]

I have been wanting to get something like this done for a while now. Thanks for taking the initiative. I am willing to write and/or do graphics for you.

[andy174drive]

Right now I am doing some extra credit for my physics class regarding the physics of our robot's systems, I could post it when I'm done if you wanted to use an example or see any points having to do with things like trajectory, spring forces and the like.

[Ian Curtis]

This is super cool!

It might be worth mentioning that stalled means that the output shaft is not spinning. It is often the little stuff that trips us up.

It is also a little confusing to have the diagram about the CIM in the middle of an example problem using the FP. Why not use the same motor in 2.1 and 2.2?

Other than those minor nitpicks, it's much more readable than the physics textbooks I put up with in Physics I!

[nighterfighter]

This is awesome, thanks for doing this!

I won't be taking physics (officially) until next year, (been reading some online once a week, etc.) and this is great!

Thanks for doing this!

[pfreivald]

I'm a physics teacher, and I am for the first time (thanks to the efforts of our team) teaching an "Introduction to Robotics" course next year in the high school, tied to the efforts of Team 1551. This is exactly the kind of thing I was hoping to find online somewhere.

Vocabulary is *key* when writing a textbook that you want to be transparent to students. I suggest that you (literally) give the chapters to a convenient seventh or eighth grader who is rather average in their overall science/technology background, and ask them to highlight/ask about any words they do not know. Make a glossary including those words, plus any others you might think prudent (like 'stall' in the concept of a motor).

If the intent is to publish this as a .pdf file, then make all vocabulary works linkable to the glossary.

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And on a side note, when not hurriedly typing forum posts before my dinner gets cold, I'm pretty good with English. It was one of my minors in college, and I have some published work floating around out there. I would be more than happy to help edit anything you do.

...that said, I do *not* have time to do raw creation stuff. As FIRST winds down to summer levels, beekeeping picks up, and I'm just as busy as ever! (Oh, and did I mention that I have a brand new class to create from scratch by September, in my nonexistent free time? )

But anyway, I pledge my services as an editor to this enterprise.

Good luck, and thank you so much for doing it. An absolutely fantastic idea.

Patrick

[glennzo]

Excellent idea and a very nice start..

[kevin.li.rit]

I'd start off with simple machines first before describing gear ratios. Mechanical Advantage is an important concept. I also hope you're not going to leave out all the fun stuff we do with Electricity in FIRST.

[MagiChau]

Thanks for spending time on this. I am not going to take physics until my Junior year so this helps me

[StevenB]

Originally Posted by andy174drive

Right now I am doing some extra credit for my physics class regarding the physics of our robot's systems, I could post it when I'm done if you wanted to use an example or see any points having to do with things like trajectory, spring forces and the like.

That would be great!

Originally Posted by Coffeeism

I'd start off with simple machines first before describing gear ratios. Mechanical Advantage is an important concept. I also hope you're not going to leave out all the fun stuff we do with Electricity in FIRST.

What "fun stuff" did you have in mind? Voltage drops, wire gauges, and so on?

[kevin.li.rit]

Originally Posted by StevenB

That would be great!


What "fun stuff" did you have in mind? Voltage drops, wire gauges, and so on?

Yeah Voltage, current, resistance, piezoelectric circuits, sensors, magnets, motors, other sensors, transistors, inductors capacitors, batteries, diodes, resistors, pots, ... etc..

[rickross]

Originally Posted by pfreivald

Vocabulary is *key* when writing a textbook that you want to be transparent to students. I suggest that you (literally) give the chapters to a convenient seventh or eighth grader who is rather average in their overall science/technology background, and ask them to highlight/ask about any words they do not know. Make a glossary including those words, plus any others you might think prudent (like 'stall' in the concept of a motor).

If the intent is to publish this as a .pdf file, then make all vocabulary works linkable to the glossary.

Hi Patrick, I LOVE the idea of a glossary for the many terms we use in FIRST and robotics. We're planning to add a "glossary" module to the OSQA online question-and-answer system we're building that powers RoboFAQs.com, so it would be excellent to have your input and involvement when you make some progress organizing the terms and definitions. Good luck!

Rick

[scawsome]

I love the idea of this! If you want, I finished AP Physics and I can describe in detail how to predict projectlie motion (for soccer balls etc.) and several other physical systems (I also plan on majoring in physics in college too). So,I would love to pass on my knowledge with the first community and write. Just tell me what to write about and I will do it! Please talk to me sometime!

[Evert Timberg]

This is great! Having one document with everything a team needs to teach students about the physics behind their robots will lead to a better competition. At my old highschool (where I now mentor) the physics teacher used to run a robotics team back when Canada had it's own "Canada First" competition. They weren't a strong team technically and couldn't fabricate a lot of the parts but they were able to design robots using simple physics that won competitions.

[pfreivald]

Originally Posted by rickross

Hi Patrick, I LOVE the idea of a glossary for the many terms we use in FIRST and robotics. We're planning to add a "glossary" module to the OSQA online question-and-answer system we're building that powers RoboFAQs.com, so it would be excellent to have your input and involvement when you make some progress organizing the terms and definitions. Good luck!

Rick

Oh, was I volunteering to organize terms and definitions?

I really, really wasn't. My background is in particle physics and in English literature (as well as beekeeping and tabletop wargames, but I don't think those count). I generally find myself barely qualified to talk to engineers, much less run a FIRST team.

I *am* volunteering to help proofread, edit, make suggestions, and so forth, including identify terms that should be defined when I read the document -- but I am probably the wrong choice (read: definitely the wrong choice) to actually organize terms and definitions out of whole cloth.