Discovering Motion

<p>This is a hands-on introduction to the branch of physics known as mechanics. Experiments and activities are embedded into the text so that students discover for themselves the scientific principles they are reading about. The text is lively and often humorous and has cartoon characters who take the reader to meet the famous scientists who are credited with making these discoveries. Very few specialized tools or materials are required. Most of the supplies are items commonly found in most homes or easily purchased at a local store. Topics include center of mass simple machines mechanical advantage types of levers pendulums resonance oscillation inertia mass weight newtons static and kinetic friction free body diagrams gravity velocity acceleration terminal velocity big G relativity explanation of gravity Newton's three laws momentum impulse collisions Cartesian grid graphing motion parabolic motion uniform circular motion cycloids centripetal force angular momentum moment of inertia kinetic and potential energy and work. About a dozen equations are introduced but they require nothing more than pre-algebra level math (examples: d=1/2gt<sup>2</sup> L=mvr PE=mgh KE=1/2mv<sup>2</sup>) The scientists included are Archimedes Aristotle Galileo Da Vinci Newton Cavendish Descartes Foucault Einstein and Marey with mentions of Euclid LaPlace Stokes Maxwell and Blackburn.</p>