iDo Physics Problem Solver

! New Version !


This app solves physics problems for you and it shows you how it does it.You don't have to deal with the formulas and to do any calculations. The app has a list of topics that it can handle. You click on the topic of your problem, and that starts a chat. The app asks you questions about the givens of the problem and what you have to find out (the targets). It then displays the solution and the details of the derivation. It also converts the units of the givens and the results (if you want to).


Example: :
PROBLEM: A rock is tossed straight up at 50 feet per second. How much time will it take to reach a point 4 meters above its starting point? (Neglect air resistance.)

How it works:

You browse the table of contents (screenshot 1, above). Topic 2.2 (Free Fall One Segment) matches the situation of the problem. You click on it, and the chat starts.
Screenshot 2 is a record of the chat. Your answers are shown in the right end of the boxes.
Screenshot 3 displays the givens and the solutions (the targets and other things that the app could calculate.) It also shows a conversion that you wanted to do.
Screenshot 4 displays the details of the derivation.

About:
This innovative app was prepared by a veteran physics professor and an experienced computer scientists. Its aim is to help students of algebra-trig based introductory physics. It simulates and illustrates how physicists solve problems.

It is expected that by participating in such chats, students should pick up what type of questions physicists ask themselves as they solve physics problems. Quite often, knowing what to ask is half of the solution. This skill can be used also for any physics topics.

With this app's help you'll be able to understand how to solve Physics 1 and 2 problems, like those that are given at the end of chapters in most General Physics textbooks. By going over the details of the solutions you'll develop insights about the meanings of the formulas and how they are used.

This app is helpful when:

1. You solved a problem and you want to check your solution.
2. You know how to solve the problem in principle, but you want someone else to go through the chores (a physics problems calculator).
3. You want to observe how an expert solves physics problems, and learn from these examples.
4. You just want the problem solved.


Q: Can the app solve any possible “end of chapter” problem for a situation listed in the table of contents?

A: In tests, the app has successfully solved thousands of “end of chapter” problems. It should solve any problem whose variables are directly linked to the symbols of the formulas that it uses.
In some cases, some pre-processing by the user is needed. For example, if a formula uses area as one of its variables, and the given is the radius of a circle, the user will have to calculate the area and provide it to the app.
Also, in complex problems that are combinations of more basic ones, the user will have to dissect the complex problem into basic ones, and the app should be able to solve them one by one.

Physics is sophisticated, programming is intricate, and mistakes happen. So, ALWAYS check the solutions provided by this app, before using them.

TOPICS HANDLED BY THE APP

Motion at Constant Velocity in One Dimension
1.1 One Moving Object
1.2 Two Objects Moving at constant velocities on the Same Line

Accelerated Motion in One Dimension
2.1 One Object Moving in Constant Acceleration
2.2 Free Fall; One Segment
2.3 Free Fall; Two Segments

Accelerated Motion in Two Dimensions
3.1 Projectile Motion

Newton’s Laws
4.1 General Forces Act on an Object
4.2 Object on a Plane, Friction Force

Momentum
5.1 Conservation of Momentum
5.2 Impulse and Momentum

Energy
6.1 Conservation of Energy
6.2 Power

Energy and Momentum
7.1 Ballistic Pendulum (generalized)

Elasticity and Oscillations
8.1 Elastic Properties of Static and Oscillating Objects