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Soda Constructor: Exploring the laws of Physics with Computational Thinking

Soda Constructor: Exploring the laws of Physics with Computational Thinking. Paul Curzon Queen Mary University of London. With support from, Department for Education, Google and the Mayor of London. www.teachinglondoncomputing.org Twitter: @TeachingLDNComp @cs4fn. Aims.

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Soda Constructor: Exploring the laws of Physics with Computational Thinking

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  1. Soda Constructor:Exploring the laws of Physics with Computational Thinking Paul Curzon Queen Mary University of London With support from, Department for Education, Google and the Mayor of London www.teachinglondoncomputing.org Twitter: @TeachingLDNComp @cs4fn

  2. Aims • Give you deeper understanding of core topics • Computational Thinking • Computational Modeling • Computational thinking and physics • Newton’s laws, gravity, friction, Hooke’s Law (springs) • Give you practical ways to teach computing and physics in a fun, thought provoking way • Linked activity sheets and booklets can be downloaded from our website: www.teachinglondoncomputing.org

  3. Algorithmic Thinkingand Physics • Why does algorithmic thinking matter to a physicist? • We can build computational models (algorithms) to explore their theories • Help them better understand • Computational models also give a powerful way to learn through exploration • For example, we can explore Newton’s Laws by creating a model of them

  4. Soda Constructorsodaplay.com • Soda constructor is • a line and dot drawing programme • and a 2D virtual world • A computational model of the basic laws of physics • Newton’s Laws • Gravity, Friction • Hooke’s Law (springs) • Draw pictures that come to life • Dots are masses • Lines are springs • Turn springs into muscles • give energy boosts • Explore the effects of the laws

  5. A Lurching Triangle • A simple creature to start with is a triangle that lurches along • Make each edge a muscle • Make them work together • Play eg with the effects of changing gravity and friction • Using the sliders • Lifting it and dropping it • Try adapting it • Notice how creatures are made of triangles to give them structural strength

  6. Different kinds of locomotion … Slug-like Wheel-like Walking-like How many legs? Interactive art … Explore …

  7. Computational Thinking • Algorithmic thinking • Turn theories into algorithms that simulate the real world things we are trying to understand • Abstraction • Didn’t model every detail of the real world just the laws of interest • Evaluation • We use the algorithms to evaluate our understanding of the real world

  8. More support On our website to support this session: • Activity sheets • Story sheets • Slides Details of more worskshops/courses • free unplugged sessions • subsidised courses (e.g. GCSE programming) www.teachinglondoncomputing.org Twitter: @TeachingLDNComp

  9. Together we areTeaching London Computing Thank you! www.teachinglondoncomputing.org Twitter: @TeachingLDNComp

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