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EXSS 323 Introductory Lab
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EXSS 323 Introductory Lab
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In the EXSS 323 labs this term you will be learning the basic analysis methods which go along with the fundamental ideas developed in the class readings and lectures. Biomechanics is an interdisciplinary field which applies the principles of mechanics (physics and engineering) to living systems--primarily the human body. It depends on the language of mathematics to communicate ideas and the techniques of mechanics to quantitatively determine kinematic and kinetic characteristics of motion.
The video that you'll view at the beginning of lab will touch on several aspects of exercise science used with elite athletes. Note how in the various illustrations computers play a central role in extracting information and in helping researchers understand human performance. One objective of the lab work that you'll be doing is to help you develop computer skills which will help in biomechanics as well as other aspects of exercise science.
This week's lab will involve some review of mathematical ideas from algebra and trigonometry. In addition, computer data analysis will be introduced using a spreadsheet as a convenient way to do calculations on a data set.
In biomechanics, we will rely on concepts from algebra and trigonometry to help us analyze human motion. Your understanding of the basic mathematical tools will enhance your comprehension of lectures and labs and will improve your performance on quizes and exams. Hence, it is worth spending time reviewing and practicing the basic ideas that you have previously encountered but which may have gotten a bit "foggy" with disuse.
Important Concepts:
Each of these concepts is used to help understand human movement in terms of quantitative characteristics which follow the mechanical principles of physics. In lab, a brief review of these concepts will be presented. However, the few minutes of review may not be sufficient for you to competently apply these ideas to biomechanics. If you find yourself somewhat weak on these mathematical concepts, take the time to systematically review your notes and text from your Math 112 prerequisite class and to practice basic algebra and trig problems.
To help you assess your mathematical preparedness for biomechanical study, linked to this page is a Math Skills Test which contains a set of problems dealing with the concepts listed above. Before next week, print a copy of the skills test and spend no more than an hour doing the problems. Feel free to review the questions beforehand with any resources or people that might help you refresh your understanding. However, do the actual test on your own without any help from friends or notes.
Biomechanical analysis often involves large data sets with many, many numbers. Doing
hand calculations on so many numbers is almost physically impossible. However, with the
help of commonly available computer applications we can easily perform complex
calculations. One of the most powerful of such tools is the "SPREADSHEET"
program. Several software companies have spreadsheets available, but they are similar in
appearance, operation and capability. We will be using the Microsoft Excel spreadsheet as
it is available on many different computer systems campus-wide. 
After starting the Excel spreadsheet, you will see a window with rows and columns of "cells" and across the top a series of small icons ("toolbar") representing small tasks for handling the spreadsheet data. The cells are where various types of data can be entered. Numbers, words, dates, times and other information can be put into the spreadsheet cells. However, it is not just a cleanly organized electronic notepad. What makes the spreadsheet powerful is its capability to do computations on data using formulas either from the user or formulas that are built in to the system. For example, the spreadsheet can easily be instructed to find the average of a set of numbers.
Your lab instructor will introduce you to using spreadsheets and will demonstrate
how to create formulas for doing calculations and how to create graphs from the
spreadsheet.
Practice entering data, formating the sheet, doing computations and graphs using a data set linked to this page. The SAMPLE DATA SET contains height and weight data for male and female groups of exercise science students. Your task for next week's lab involves a simple analysis and printout of results from this data set.
First, the data can be read directly from the laboratory computers and resaved on your own floppy disk. Or alternatively, you can use the web data table, save it to your disk as a text file and then open that file in Excel. If you are having problems transfering the data try an alternative approach. Once you have successfully read the data file into the spreadsheet, perform the following operations:
Print the spreadsheet and each graph on separate pages and have them ready for submission at the beginning of next week's lab. Be sure to practice these spreadsheet skills and use them to make your biomechanics work easier.
Attached you will find a set of altitude data from the 1996 Mt. Everest Expedition1 (you
may remember (or not)
that 5 people died on Mt. Everest during the
1996 climbing season). After importing the data into Excel, do the
following:
1.
Using Scatterplot Graphing mode (connect the dots, curved lines), graph
Altitude vs. Date.
2.
Using Scatterplot Graphing mode (connect the dots, straight lines),
graph Altitude vs. Date.
3.
Print each graph on a separate page; comment on the differences in the
appearances of the graphs.
References:
1. Boukreev A & DeWalt GW (1997). The Climb: Tragic Ambitions on Everest. St. Martin's, New York.