Lecture 17

Today we moved on to LabVIEW. My laptop is dead, so I could not bring it to work on. I will be observing classmates' experiences with LabVIEW.LabVIEW is a lot more visual and user-friendly than MATLAB. I like the visual aspect of it but it doesn't seem like we will be doing much coding (which is what I am primarily interested in). Because I cannot take screenshots, I will be typing solutions and explanations to the practice exercises here. Start a new VI (visual instrument).

Edit: I'm sharing a laptop with Edgar so I can have screenshots now.

Practice exercise: familiarizing with the functions palette
Add -> functions palette -> Numeric group
Wait -> functions palette -> Timing group
Dial numeric control -> Numeric group
Toggle switch -> Boolean group

Creating a VI: build a simple VI that has a toggle switch with an LED indicator that illuminates when the switch is "on".
First drag a light LED and a toggle switch to the front panel. Connect the two with a wire and run continuously. There are alignment options at the top of the front panel. AND/OR can be used for these "wires". Input goes into the back and output goes out the front.

Creating a Division VI; Using while loops:

Project 2 Discussion

Today we turned in Project 2 and had a discussion about criticisms of and improvements for the assignment. Our group estimated that the time it took was 20 - 24 hours. We learned that you should start on a project as soon as you receive it. Also talk to your colleagues for feedback and new perspectives. Below is a picture of the whiteboard we worked on. It lists the steps of this project, what could be improved, and what we learned.

Project 2 Code and Raw Data

http://www.megafileupload.com/i0r3/proj2.zip

HW#15

Question 1: using the traps() function to estimate area under a curve

Question 2: writing a derivative function

Question 3: I couldn't figure this one out :(

HW#14

Questions were related to each other. Question 1 dealt with interpolating linearly and cubic slice. Question 2 used polyfit() to fit a first-, second-, third-, and fourth- order polynomial to the given data. Question 3 manipulated the equation and graphed it.

Lecture 15

I am tired today, not enough energy to type much.
Linear interpolation: estimate a data point between points
Interpolation options for interp1():

Practice exercise for interp1() and 'spline':

Context Example: Thermodynamic properties: using steam tables

Use linear interpolation to determine the internal energy at 215°C. Use linear interpolation to determine the temperature if the internal energy is 2600 kJ/kg.

[insert whiteboard]

Context Example: Thermodynamic properties: expanding the steam tables

Two-dimensional interpolation

Use interp2()

HW#13

All questions use a message box to output results.

Question 1: Solving symbolically.
Solving for distance from a pivot point to the center of gravity of a pendulum using a formula for frequency. I just used solve() to find L.

Question 2: Projectile
Solve for horizontal and vertical distances. Using subs() to substitute real values for symbolic data.

Question 3: Weather balloon

Question 4: Spring

Question 5: Trigonometric Function

Lecture 14

Today we're continuing symbolic functions.

Plotting some functions with set intervals.

Plotting trig graphs, multiple graphs in one, and parametric graphs.

Some symbolic functions: 

This is some screenshots of a few of the different three-dimensional plots using symbolic equations.

Practice problems using three-dimensional plotting functions to plot a symbolic equation.

Ballistics context example. Using ezplot() to plot projectile motion and range.

Next is calculus in MATLAB. There are functions that differentiate equations.

We modified the ballistics program to use calculus to find the optimum angle for the maximum range and the maximum range.

Next is integration. This table shows some integration functions.

HW#12

Question 1: Some practice exercises dealing with symbolic equations and subs()

Question  2: Pendulum
I didn't do anything special for this question. The solution is a very simple 3 line program.
I just created a symbolic equation and then solved for 'L' in the equation.

Question 3: Chemical processes
We had done this question before using matrices and linear algebra. This method is much faster, but the answers are not as accurate as using linear algebra. There is nothing special with this program either.

Lecture 13

Modified the planetary data program to extract different data.

Today we are focusing on symbolic algebra. This screenshot shows the practice exercises we did in the beginning. The symbols and expressions are going to be used throughout the class.

Using numden() to extract the numerator and denominator of a symbolic expression.

Typing mupad opens a MuPad window.

Practice exercise

An example using solve() to symbolically solve for Q.

Solving a system of equation: originally with linear algebra, and then with solve().

This example containing free-fall and kinematics. Solve for the range.