Enhancing Student Understanding of Concepts in Engineering and other STEM Areas using Spreadsheets

Martin R. VarleyMichael S. PeakFraser Hatfield

School of Computing, Engineering and Physical SciencesUniversity of Central Lancashire, UK

Philip D. PictonSchool of Science and Technology

The University of Northampton, UK

Overview of Presentation• Introduction• Spreadsheet development

– Simple table generation– Graphs (charts)– Macros

• Simulation of various concepts in Engineering and Physics (demos)

• Concluding Remarks

Application Areas in Engineering and Physics• Simulation of various concepts in

Engineering and Physics• Examples to include:

– Equations of motion– Addition and interaction of sinusoids– Digital Electronics: BCD counter– Robotic Systems: robot arm simulation– Digital Signal Processing: chirp z-transform

Example screenshot: equations of motionParticle trajectory in two dimensions

Example screenshot: Addition of sinusoids

Example screenshot: Digital ElectronicsTwo-digit BCD counter with display

Example screenshot: Two-section robot arm simulation in two dimensions

Example screenshot: z-plane analysis using chirp z-transform (CZT)

Enhancing Student Understanding of Concepts in Engineering and other STEM Areas using Spreadsheets

For further details and example spreadsheets, contact:

Martin R. VarleySchool of Computing, Engineering and Physical SciencesUniversity of Central Lancashire, UKmrvarley@uclan.ac.uk

Enhancing Student Understanding of Concepts in Engineering and other STEM Areas using Spreadsheets

Martin R. VarleyMichael S. PeakFraser Hatfield

School of Computing, Engineering and Physical SciencesUniversity of Central Lancashire, UK

Philip D. PictonSchool of Science and Technology

The University of Northampton, UK