1. Enhancing Student Understanding of Concepts in Engineering and other STEM Areas using Spreadsheets Martin R. Varley Michael S. Peak Fraser Hatfield School of Computing, Engineering and Physical Sciences University of Central Lancashire, UK Philip D. Picton School of Science and Technology The University of Northampton, UK

2. Overview of Presentation Introduction Spreadsheet development –Simple table generation –Graphs (charts) –Macros Simulation of various concepts in Engineering and Physics (demos) Concluding Remarks

3. 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

4. Example screenshot: equations of motion Particle trajectory in two dimensions

5. Example screenshot: Addition of sinusoids

6. Example screenshot: Digital Electronics Two-digit BCD counter with display

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

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

9. Enhancing Student Understanding of Concepts in Engineering and other STEM Areas using Spreadsheets For further details and example spreadsheets, contact: Martin R. Varley School of Computing, Engineering and Physical Sciences University of Central Lancashire, UK mrvarley@uclan.ac.uk

10. Enhancing Student Understanding of Concepts in Engineering and other STEM Areas using Spreadsheets Martin R. Varley Michael S. Peak Fraser Hatfield School of Computing, Engineering and Physical Sciences University of Central Lancashire, UK Philip D. Picton School of Science and Technology The University of Northampton, UK