The Missing Manual
A New Tool for Measuring
You have to make some measurements, and you are given a new tool for making them.

The problem is that the manual for the tool is missing. You'll need to discover how to use it by experimenting on your own!

The tool is sort of an automatic ruler, because it measures distance instantly. But it also measures time. It's called a motion probe, and it reports its measurements on a graph.

Your motion probe plugs into a USB port on your computer. Place it so that you can see the computer screen while standing in front of it.

Please go on to the next page.


Try It Out
Experiment with the motion probe. Work in teams. Take turns. One person is the “computer operator” who starts, stops, and clears the graph. Another person is the “mover” who stands in front of the probe and moves.

Try different motions such as moving forwards and backwards and side-to-side. After you have had some time to experiment, make a graph and describe what you did. Click Submit to share what you discovered. You can always submit more than once.






Describe what you did to make this graph.
Draw a Landscape
Use the motion probe to draw a “picture” on the graph below.

Draw a landscape of a flat plain with two mountains of different heights and steepnesses. Share the roles of mover and computer operator with your team. Submit when you are satisfied with your graph.

























Describe where you started and how you moved to make the plain. Describe how you moved to make the two mountains.
Draw a Staircase
Draw another picture, this time, of a staircase. Try making steep and gentle stairs. Think about how you control the height and width of the stairs. Then answer the questions and submit.















Is your staircase steep or gentle? Describe how you made it. Describe what motions make tall stairs. Describe what motions control the width of stairs.
Summary of Patterns
Below, write an entry for the Missing Manual that provides instructions for making motions for the graphs listed below. You may use the graph to help you.









Enter instructions for creating sections of motion graphs with the following features:
  1. A long horizontal straight line
  2. Steep straight lines going up and down
  3. Lines with gentle slopes going up and down
Share a Tip

Describe a “tip” about how to use the motion probe for the missing manual that you learned from while experimenting or from classroom discussions.
The End
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