Maggots races

When approaching kinematics for the first time, students might encounter the difficulty of understanding the subject’s different languages. Teachers tend to take for granted the steps necessary to translate the descriptions of motion between the verbal language, the mathematical language (i.e. equations), and the graphical language (i.e. space-time graphs, photographs with strobe lights, etc.). Another aspect, that involves difficulties, is the connection between these descriptions and the perception of the reality of motion.

With this videogame, we want to aid the students in their understanding of the different languages and the connections between them. The game shows the kinematic description of the motion of three maggots along a linear track. The student will be asked to calculate and then indicate the order of arrival of the larvae. The description of the motion is provided in one of the languages (verbal, mathematical, and graphical). Students are therefore invited to interpret all languages and apply the mathematical formalism necessary to deduce the arrival order. The playful component can stimulate the classes and thus help the understanding.