Outdoor Vector Lab

Many students who take introductory physics at an algebra-based level on our campus have had little or no previous experience with vectors. These students must grasp the new mathematical tool as quickly as they can, for application is right around the corner. Often it is helpful to reinforce the concepts of vectors within the physics lab. However, the common physics lab involving force tables also throws in the concept of the force vector at a point where force has not yet been introduced, and the students are still trying to grasp the concept of vectors in terms of length and direction. To give my students a vector lab that focused on reinforcing the concept of vectors from the basics of length and direction, I devised an outdoor lab that forced them to use vectors in the solution of a problem that at first seemed straightforward.