Activity Description
This activity demonstrates the connections between different kinds of body motion and the graphs we use to represent that motion. When you click the “Start” button, you should see a model person slowly rotating back and forth, as well as a graph depicting their sinusoidal motion. Notice how the dot on the graph is in sync with the motion of the figure. You can change the motion frequency via the pull-down menu below the graph. To visualize other forms of motion, use the radio buttons.
Yaw: The model person rotates about a vertical axis that runs from their feet up through their head.
Inter-Aural: The model person moves left and right, as if they were riding a skateboard across the ground.
Tilt: The model person rotates around an axis that would go straight through their body from front to back, near where their bellybutton would be.
In all three rotation examples, the movements follow a sinusoidal pattern that is plotted on a corresponding graph showing a sine wave. The main idea to take away from this activity is that body movements can be described using sine wave functions.