A solve block can be a self-contained region of your worksheet, but it can also interact with the worksheet. For example, you can define the guess values in math regions coming before the solve block region.
If you define a guess value inside the solve block region, it is defined locally. It does not affect the value of the variable in the worksheet.
You can assign the solution to a variable and use it later in your worksheet.
You can assign the solution to a function that has the same arguments as the parameters of the solve block. Here, the parameter is a.
With function f, you can evaluate the solution for a specific value of a:
You can also plot function f to visualize how it varies depending on parameter a.
Practice
Before you move on to the next exercise, consider the following problem. Two balls roll towards each other before colliding:
You can set up a solve block to find the velocities of the balls after collision as follows:
• The guess values have units compatible with the solve block solution.
• The constraints are the conservation of momentum and the conservation of energy.
• The solve block solution, V(m.a), is a vector function. v.a and v.b are labeled as functions, so they can be distinguished from variables in the following calculations.
The change in momentum during the collision:
The change in energy during the collision:
You can plot the final velocities and the change in momentum and energy in terms of m.a.
Click Copy Expressions on the top-right corner of this topic. To paste the expressions in a new worksheet, click the worksheet and then press Ctrl+V. Change the value of u.a to 2, and the unit of u.b to ft/s and notice how the changes affect the plot.
