Activities
In your kits for the Portable Partial Derivative Machine should be the following:To assemble the Portable PDM, start by placing the PDM on a table surface with the measuring tapes perpendicular to the table's edge and the board edge with 3 holes closest to you.
- A 1ft by 1ft board with 5 holes and measuring tapes (the measuring tapes will be on the top side)
- 2 S-hooks
- A spring with 3 strings attached
- 2 small cloth bags
- 4 large ball bearings
- 8 small ball bearings
- 2 vertical clamp pulleys
- A ziploc bag containing
- 5 screws
- 5 hex nuts
- 5 washers
- 5 wing nuts
- 2 horizontal pulleys
Here is a poor photo of the final result, which doesn't show the two vertical pulleys. If you would like, you could view a video of the building process.
- one screw should be put through each hole so that the threads stick out through the top side of the board. Next use a hex nut to secure each screw in place. It is not critical that they be screwed on any more than you can comfortably manage by hand.
- After securing all 5 screws in place with a hex nut, put a washer on each screw.
- Slide a horizontal pulley onto screws 1 and 2 (as labeled above).
- On all 5 screws, add a wing nut to secure the other pieces. Again, it does not need to be tightened all the way as long as it is secure enough that nothing will fall off.
- Using the middle wingnut/washer/screw (Screw 4), clamp the shortest of the strings tied to the spring.
- Loop the remaining 2 looped-ends of string around the horizontal pulleys and along the measuring tape.
- Using the string as a guide, clamp the vertical pulleys into place on the edge of the board.
- Through the looped-end of each string, place 1 S-hook.
- Put the other end of each s-hook through the hole in the small cloth bag.