MA 112 - Calculus II
Worksheet # 8
Professor Broughton
Name: Box #:
Due: Friday, Jan 31.
Read section 6.4 on arclength
Problem Statement: A metal yardstick, lying flat on the table, is
pushed in at the ends so that it bends in the middle, as in the picture below.
It is pushed in so that the ends are only 35.5, 35, 34.5 and 34 inches apart.
We want to use a parabolic model to predict the deflection and then compare
that to the measured deflection. This will help us test the reliability of our
model.
1. When you receive the yardstick, two people of each team will place the
metal yardstick on top of the wooden yardstick and push in the end the
required amount. The others will measure the maximum deflection in
the middle. Each team will report a deflection and the results recorded
on the board. Record the results below,
Tea m # 123456
Amount pushed in e0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 0.5 1.0
Deflection h
Tea m # 78910 11 12
Amount pushed in e1.5 2.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0
Deflection h
2. For each amount pushed in find the average deflection. Thus the results
for Teams 1,5, and 9 could be averaged.
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