A Snowball in Durham

Robert M. Panoff, Ph.D.
The Shodor Education Foundation
June 1998

The purpose of this exercise is to help you anchor what you have learned today, keeping in mind two key aspects of computational science and modeling:

• computational science and modeling are inherently interdisciplinary and require maximizing and analyzing input from multiple sources.
• you need to match application, algorithm, and architecture to model efficiently and effectively.

This evening you may work alone, in pairs, or in teams of your own choosing. Remember, one of the greatest computing tools ever developed is between your ears.

A snowball's chance in Durham. Here is a modeling exercise that can be used as an embedded, authentic assessment tool.

• Name at least a dozen contributing factors to an accurate model of a snowball in flight; "accurate" means that you should be able to determine how far a snowball will travel from the point it leaves the hand of the thrower within 2 inches.

• Which of these factors would you guess (conjecture, theorize, hope) is(are) most important in building an accurate model of a snowball in flight?

• What would be the key steps in a development plan to build such a model? Draw (sketch) a flow chart that summarizes these steps.