USING SPREADSHEETS FOR TEACHING LORENTZ TRANSFORMATIONS IN RELATIVISTIC MECHANICS
USING SPREADSHEETS FOR TEACHING LORENTZ TRANSFORMATIONS IN RELATIVISTIC MECHANICS

Summary/Abstract: The spreadsheets of Microsoft Excel are important tools for the teaching the relativistic mechanics. In this paper, efforts have been made to generate spreadsheets for Lorentz transformations and comparison of Lorentz and Galileo transformations of relativistic mechanics. Spreadsheet programs are very useful tools in teaching in relativistic mechanics. One of the main advantages is that students can interfere with the program. The graphical capabilities of spreadsheets give the method a visual feel and allow easy comparisons between exact and numerical solutions. This tool contributes to the enhancing the motivation in the study of the relativistic mechanics. It is hoped that the ideas expressed in this paper will serve at a catalyst for further research and investigation into the use of conditional formatting for physics education. Students and teachers should be provided with computer facilities fully loaded with the latest versions of spreadsheets. The aim is to improve interaction with the computer with easy access to spreadsheet packages. Spreadsheets had become entrenched in relativistic mechanics, driven by the demands of end users for tools to help them in performing analysis tasks. In this paper, we support that the spreadsheets of Microsoft Excel may be used as an alternative instructional tool, in order to help students confront their cognitive constraints and develop functional understanding of physics. Thus, the spreadsheet is an accessible and easy to use resource, without mentioning the fact that a great part of the students already know how to use it. Even considering its limitations, the spreadsheet is the resource that offers the best cost-benefit in terms of didactic resources.

• Details
• Contents