Purpose:

In the first part of the lab this term I have defined the problems you worked on using Python. In the second half of the term the purpose is for you to pick a project and experience using your new skills to explore some aspect of physics that, hopefully, interests you. As you pick your topic I want to hear about it so that we can collectively define the starting point and boundaries of the proposal. My experience is that most of us tend to bite off way more than we can manage in a relatively short period of time.

Process:  

Go read the Project Criteria webpage and consider what might interest you. The questions you need to answer are reiterated below.

When you think of a possible project I will ask you to write out your answers to the following 3 questions:

I: What is the most simple form of the problem and what are the physics tools you would use to describe and predict it's behavior?

II: What is it about the problem that needs to be modeled as an evolving situation? Is the air drag that keeps changing magnitude and direction? Does one or more of the forces in the problem change with time or position? This is the feature of the problem that requires us to consider a numberical approach to solving the problem.

III: How do you picture incrementally improving the model? Describe what you envision as a series of small improvements that you might make to get from the very simple model in (I) to something that approaches the true complexity of the 'real' problem.

Instructor Approval: You will have a quick meeting with your instructor during lab or ofice hours to get formal approval for your proposal. Past experience suggests students find really interesting but alarmingly difficult projects to propose. Even problems that might at first seem too simple can be dialed up into worthy numerical problems. Be aware that sometime during the term I will google your project to see if someone has already written a Jupyter or Python notebook for your proposal.

Project Proposal:

1) Submit your proposal that answers the three questions posed above

2) Meet with you Instructor to discuss

3) Get signed or verbal approval to proceed!