Demonstrations

Vector Demos

Code Number :	1A40.10
Disclaimer:	Reprinted by permission of Dick Berg, University of Maryland, for use on this website. The demonstrations contained and referenced herein are listed for the purposes of cataloging and describing physics demonstrations which should be conducted only under the direction of a trained instructional support professional or physicist. These demonstrations are not presented for the purpose of being conducted by persons unconnected to this Facility and/or persons not consulting with or being supervised by the recognized instructional support professional or physicist and his/her staff. The University is responsible only for those demonstrations carried out using its own equipment using established safety and scheduling policies, and bears no responsibility for those choosing to use this source material for their own purposes. All demonstrations described and contained herein are public domain, and can also be found in reference materials in libraries, bookstores, and electronic sources. Further information regarding legal liability in use of demonstrations and labs will be found on the web site Injuries in School/College Laboratories in USA. The University of Iowa Disclaimers: University of Iowa Disclaimer All Rights Reserved.
Condition :	Fair
Principle :	Vector Addition, Resultant Vector
Area of Study :	Mechanics
Equipment :	Vector demo, Metal Globe, Plexiglas 1/2 Sphere, Globe Stand, Magnetic Radial Vectors, A Few Small Button Magnets.
Procedure :	No advanced preparation needed. The globe and magnetic orange rays are for showing radial vectors. The rays will stick directly onto the metal globe. On the Plexiglas 1/2 sphere you will need to put one of the small button magnets on the inner surface of the sphere to hold the vector on.

Web Sites

Vectors tutorial and Applet:

http://www.physics.uoguelph.ca/tutorials/vectors/vectors.html

The infamous 2-D relative velocity problem of the boat crossing the river is simulated in the applet:

http://physics.bu.edu/~duffy/java/RelV2.html

References

Paul Erdman, "Outdoor Vector Lab", TPT, Vol. 42, # 3, March 2004, p. 146.

R. W. Robinett, "It's, Like, Relative Motion at the Mall," TPT, Vol. 41, # 3, p. 140, (March 2003).

L. Edward Millet, "Old Pilot Values," TPT, Vol. 41, # 3. p. 132, (March 2003).

David Kagan, "An Old Pilot's Yarn," TPT, Vol. 40, # 8, p. 464, (Nov. 2002).

David P. Taylor, "Vector Video," TPT, Vol. 39, # 1, p. 14, (Jan. 2001).

"Figuring Physics", TPT, Vol. 38, # 4, Apr. 2000, p. 216.

Frederick H. C. Schultz, "Vectoring Backwards", TPT, Vol. 37, # 6, Sept. 1999, p. 353.

Harvey F. Blanch, "How To Avoid Niagara Falls", TPT, Vol. 37, # 2, Feb. 1999, p. 78.

David J. Van Domelen, "Artificial Right-Hand Rule Device," TPT, Vol. 37, # 8, p. 500, (Nov. 1999).

James F. Jackson, "Real Rivers / Ideal Streams", TPT, Vol. 37, # 1, Jan. 1999, p. 3.

H. David Sheets, "Communicating With Vectors", TPT, Vol. 36, # 8, Nov. 1998, p. 520.

Stephen Widmark, "Vector Treasure Hunt", TPT, Vol. 36, # 5, May 1998, p. 319.

David Wheeler and Niran Charoenkul, "Whole Vectors", TPT, Vol. 36, # 4, Apr. 1998, p. 274.

"Figuring Physics", TPT, Vol. 36, # 4, Apr. 1998, p. 240.

David L. Cone, "Floating in Real Rivers", TPT, Vol. 36, # 6, Sept. 1998, p. 323.

Ernest Zebrowski, Jr., "Sunbeam Vectors and Scalar Products", TPT, Vol. 35, # 5, p. 310, May 1997.

James Metz, "Some Mean Velocities", TPT, Vol. 34, # 7, Oct. 1996, p. 438.

"Figuring Physics", TPT, Vol. 34, # 4, Apr. 1996, p. 246.

Bruce Gregory, "Flying in a Crosswind", TPT, Vol. 34, # 6, Sept. 1996, p. 326.

David Wheeler, "Vectors Are the Way to Go", TPT, Vol. 33, # 6, Sept. 1995, p. 325.

Alexander S. Kondratyev and Willard Sperry, "Direct Use of Vectors in Mechanics Problems", TPT, Vol. 34, # 7, Oct. 1994, p. 416.

Nathan Brown, "Vector Addition and Speeding Ticket", TPT, Vol. 31, # 5, May 1993, p. 274.

Alfredo A. Louro, "Are Arrows Vectors? and Similar Problems", TPT, Vol. 31, # 7, Oct. 1993, p. 390.

James R. Helmick, "The Mobile Frame of Reference," TPT, Vol. 31, # 3, p. 177, (March 1993).

Tom J. Gray and Roger A. Key, "Tinkertoys and 3-D Demos", TPT, Vol. 30, # 3, Mar. 1992, p. 174.

Roger Blickensderfer, "Fighting the Current", TPT, Vol. 30, # 1, Jan. 1992, p. 44.

Kenneth Fox, "Force Components, The Last Straw", TPT, Vol. 29, # 2, Feb. 1991, p. 118.

R. Ramire-Bon, "An Interesting Problem Solved by Vectors", TPT, Vol. 28, # 9, Dec. 1990, p. 594.

W. E. Scott, "A Note on the Vector Addition of Parallel, Non-Collinear Vectors", TPT, Vol. 27, # 2, Feb. 1989, p. 92.

George Amann and Floyd Holt, "A Vector Treasure Hunt", TPT, Vol. 27, # 6, Sept. 1989, p. 464.

E.S. Oberhofer, "Right Triangles - An Added Dimension," TPT, Vol. 25, # 6, p. 380, (Sept. 1987).

James N. Boyd, "Observations Concerning the Graphical Addition of Vectors", TPT, Vol. 23, # 3, Mar. 1985, p. 159.

Edwin Paul Heideman, "Vectors Inexpensively and Effectively Demonstrated", TPT, Vol. 22, # 1, Jan. 1984, p. 55.

Dileep V. Sathe, "A Graphical Verification for the Parallelogram of Forces", TPT, Vol. 20, # 5, May 1982, p. 321.

R. F. Pugh, "Generation of Right-Angled Triangles", TPT, Vol. 16, # 2, Feb. 1978, p. 99.

H. L. Armstrong, "More Triangles", TPT, Vol. 16, # 5, May 1978, p. 261.

Donald F. Kirwan and Jack Willis, "Open Letter to Readers ( 17 Right Triangles)", TPT, Vol. 14, # 9, Dec. 1976, p. 578, reprinted in TPT, Vol. 40, # 1, p. 47, Jan. 2002.

Brother Columban Francis, "Vector Visual Aids", TPT, Vol. 5, # 3, March 1967, p. 119.

George D. Freier, "Static Equilibrium Problems Solved with Jigsaw Puzzles", TPT, Vol. 5, # 4, April 1967, p. 158.

Sergio Flores, Stephen E. Kanim, Christian H. Kautz, "Student Use of Vectors in Introductory Mechanics", AJP, Vol. 72, # 4, Apr. 2004, p. 460.

M- 068: "Vector Board - Alg. Sign Marker," DICK and RAE Physics Demo Notebook.

S- 025: "Coordinate Systems-Wooden Axes," DICK and RAE Physics Demo Notebook.

Mail Questions and Comments to: Dale Stille