MATLAB: forces acting on an object

[lc99]

i have a assignment for my MATLAB (first year) class, and I am slightly confused om what exactly i should be coding.

im not struggling with the coding part, but what i am suppose to code.

im used to coding based on what it is needed.

So, for my project, I am suppose to represent the forces acting upon objects in motion such that I am suppose to calculate these forces (such as an automobile, bicycle, airplane, or person).

im not sure how this program will turn out.

i really want clarification with what i am doing.

So, my plan is to let the user input information about an object such as the objects forces or weight, friction, normal force, and pull force(not sure what else). The user woild provide values and ill just calculate the total forces in the x and y direction.

however, I am not sure what is going to satisfy this project in terms of visually representing this on matlab's GUI. we've only learn some beginner skills. Can someone provide guidance or advice?

 

[scottdave]

As far as what type of visual display you should create will depend on what your grader is looking for. Does it have to use Matlab, or are other software acceptable. Since it seems you are comfortable coding (just not in Matlab), perhaps you could ask what is acceptable.

The weight of this project in proportion to the rest of the class should give you and indication of how much effort should go to it. I would want to see the program give an indication if the forces are balanced, and if they are not, the amount and direction of resulting acceleration.

Are you allowed to work with others for ideas on the project? If so, this could really help.

 

[lc99]

As far as what type of visual display you should create will depend on what your grader is looking for. Does it have to use Matlab, or are other software acceptable. Since it seems you are comfortable coding (just not in Matlab), perhaps you could ask what is acceptable.

The weight of this project in proportion to the rest of the class should give you and indication of how much effort should go to it. I would want to see the program give an indication if the forces are balanced, and if they are not, the amount and direction of resulting acceleration.

Are you allowed to work with others for ideas on the project? If so, this could really help.

these are the grades per effort we are provided:
C: You create a series of MATLAB functions that will perform calculations for different
parameters of the physics problem you chose. This must be more flexible than simply solving
for a single variable based on a set of inputs. The user must be able to customize which
variables to solve for, and which variables they want to input.
B: You create a visual representation of your system in a MATLAB plot. This can be a free
body diagram, magnetic and electrical field diagram, circuit diagram, or other appropriate
visualization.
A: User input parameters and visualizations are contained within a GUI

yes, i am allowed to work in a group. However, it seems my group isn't responding to any msges and are just ignoring the project. So i woulf love to get a headstart and get an idea of how this project should word.

we have to use MATLAB and matlab's gui "guide" to do this.

Also, this project is like 15% of our grade.

 

[lc99]

The weight of this project in proportion to the rest of the class should give you and indication of how much effort should go to it. I would want to see the program give an indication if the forces are balanced, and if they are not, the amount and direction of resulting acceleration.

thanks, this is helpful. i kinda understand now how the program should work. So, would the user input values of mass, horizontal forces acting on the left and right, and vertical forces acting upwards or downwards? or should the inputs be more specific?