Automatic analysis of problems in elementary mechanics

This thesis reports research toward the design of a procedure for , . automatic analysis and solution of problems in elementary classical mechanics. Various elements of the solution process have been examined, with principal emphasis on a detailed procedure for equation generation and solution. Directed graphs are introduced to represent the relations which hold among the algebraic variables in a specific problem. The general physical laws and principles are represented as a set of procedures which can be called as needed to construct the algebraic relationships for a given problem. A computer program is described which was implemented to verify the equation generation procedure. The limitations of the procedure are discussed, and an extended procedure is proposed.U of I OnlyThesi