Physics Project using finite method?

[tinker99]

I'm supposed to be doing a project. Here is what it says to do.

I tried to copy and paste the directions in here but some of the equations are not turning out on this page as expected, so I have uploaded the project.

Can anyone tell me how I need to start or what to do please? The professor did not explain it very well at all.
This is supposed to be done in excel.

 

[BvU]

Hello tinker, and welcome to PF. Seems to me you are rather late with this (09/04 probably means September 4, right?).
Did you notice the template when you posted ? Did you have a reason to delete it ? By PF rules using the template is compulsory, with good reasons. See the guidelines. There you can also read that some effort on your part (attempt at solution) is required. Just saying don't know is not good enough.

To help you get started: What's this about? You have an analtical solution already, so in a physics course that's it. Why stoop to numerics at all?

So I suspect this is about numerical analysis, programming, or something like that.

Ah! read on, McDuff! Excel is the giveaway. See at the bottom.​

Does

By using the finite difference method

mean something to you in the context of what you just learned ? Like as if they want you to calculate v from (x(t+Δt) - x(t))/Δt when all you have is a routine that returns x when you provide t ?And now a reply after I noticed the word excel :

Suppose you get a sheet with in column A numbers like 0, 0.01, 0.02, 0.03, ...
and in column B the values of A*cos(ω * A1), A*cos(ω * A2), A*cos(ω * A3), A*cos(ω * A4), ...
can you then use the values in column B, together with the value of Δ t in my example, to write a formula for v in column C ? and for a in column D ?

You can then complete by writing the analytical formulae for v and a in the next columns and compare

I did choose Δt = 0.01 for my example. Perhaps 0.1 or 0.000000001 would have been better ?

Your turn...

 

[tinker99]

You are right I started watching a youtube video on it and realized it was very simple. I guess now I just want to make sure I am on the right track.

 

[BvU]

I suppose you are. It is your responsibility anyway . PF is explicitly not in the business of stamp-approving. Wouldn't be fair and all that.

Besides, your link is to an attachment.php that I can't do anything sensible with. Must be my old age or that of my PC...