Build Projects to Explore Calculus-based Mechanics
Make: Physics applies electronics and 3D printing—as well as calculus principles—to teach selected topics in first-semester college physics. The book focuses on mechanics: kinematics, energy, momentum, energy, rotation, and related topics. It is a supplement book for either high school students learning physics and calculus concurrently, or college engineering or science students in an introductory physics course focusing on mechanics.
The authors include many experiments using maker-level materials like BBC micro:bit processors and 3D prints. These allow playing with concepts that are hard to learn from passive listening. Models and projects are designed to be hands-on, affordable, and friendly for homeschoolers, informal or enrichment education settings, and those teaching themselves these concepts. This book builds on the authors’ book Make: Calculus, adding additional topics needed to support physics concepts.
A note about the EPub file for screenreader users: The Make: Physics epub3 digital download that comes as part of this package (along with a PDF version) is intended for use with screen readers that can read math, such as the Thorium epub reader.
After you have the book open in the latest version of Thorium, check the Thorium documentation to learn how to turn on MathJax functionality, which in turn reads the MathML in the epub. These settings are only available after you have opened at least one book in Thorium. Additionally, you may need to right-click on an equation, check the menu that appears, and experiment with the MathML settings in that menu to make them compatible with your screenreader.
And if you are using a separate screen reader program to interface with Thorium, you might need to add a plugin for it to be able to read MathML correctly.
About the Authors
Joan Horvath and Rich “Whosawhatsis” Cameron are the founders of Nonscriptum LLC, a consulting and training firm founded in 2015 in based in Pasadena, California. Joan and Rich focus on teaching educators and scientists how to use maker tech, together they have authored ten books for Make: and other publishers, as well as numerous courses for LinkedIn Learning (formerly Lynda.com). Joan is an MIT alumna, recovering rocket scientist and educator, and Rich is an open-source 3D printer hacker who designed the RepRap Wallace and Bukito 3D printers.
