Using Desmos for Physics (Part I)

When I discovered Desmos, I knew that both I and my students would love it. Desmos has been called an online graphing calculator, which is literally true, but a description that barely captures the possibilities. I have come to see Desmos as a programmable simulator, using a programming language called math.

I could see right away that there would be two ways for me to use Desmos in the physics classroom. First, I could create interactive, animated graphs that students could manipulate and play with. Second, students could, with a little scaffolding, create their own animated graphs. These graphs could demonstrate basic graphing concepts, such as finding the slope of a curve, or building a distribution curve for a set of data. They could also demonstrate basic mathematical relationships among various physical quantities.

But first I had to learn how to use Desmos. The fastest way for me was to find existing graphs that I was interested in, study how they had been built, and then modify and adapt them. When I inevitably "broke" a graph, I was able to find enough information online to figure out where I had gone wrong. It was really fun, and the immediate response by Desmos to any changes was addictive. I also quickly realized that my math skills are pretty rusty. I've done a lot of programming, and you can get away with some sloppiness and inelegance, but straight-out math is pretty unforgiving. If you need to brush up on your math skills, Desmos is the most fun way I can think of to do so.

This is my first Desmos project: https://www.desmos.com/calculator/fm6yuykclr





You can minimize the panel on the left (click the "<<" symbol). You can also manipulate the right panel to change the viewpoint.

Go to line 6 on the left panel (Graph of Slope) and click the circle.

This graph is based on a graph I've already had the students draw and analyze. Students commonly confuse position (the height of the curve) with speed (the slope of the curve), so the more tools for visualizing the better. In this case, I'm using Desmos as a demonstration tool, but it's pretty easy to have all the students call up the graph on a laptop and show them things they can change. I try to have them guess what might happen with a given change, and then check their guesses. Each instance of the graph is separate from the other instances, so students can modify the graphs without disturbing my original or each other. They also do not need to create an account, or even log in. Hit the link and play!

Using Desmos for Physics (Part II)
Using Desmos for Physics (Part III)