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Introduction to Biomechanics (Statics)

PHY 111

Fall 2014

This project concerns the application of the laws of mechanics to understand aspects of the human body. It will be a short project, rather than a problem such as the cat problem. It is a project in the sense that it is more targeted and not as open-ended as a problem.

Introduction

Certain aspects of the body concerning muscles and joints can be subjected to simplified models. As an example, consider the foot shown in a simplified fashion below.

This shows forces from the Achilles tendon, FT, and the tibia, FB, when the foot is supporting some of the weight of the body at a position close to the toes. These forces can be calculated, along with the angle that the force from the tibia makes from the vertical, when some distances are measured. How do these forces and angle changes when a person is doing other activities so that other part(s) of the foot support(s) the weight of the body? What conclusions can be made with these computations?

Other simplified diagrams are shown below for the hip, for a person hanging on a horizontal bar, and for a person bending at the waist.

Project Activities

The activities of this project are for you to use one of these or another body activity to analyze the forces and angles as certain factors are changed, such as the effect on the hip from bending the knee to pick up a box or the effect on the foot in certain dance positions. You must be able to explain the simplified model and the factors that affect the forces and angle. You must also draw conclusions about body activities as evidenced from your calculations. Specifically, you must

1. Choose a part of the body that includes muscles or tendons and a joint.

2. Create a simplified model with a drawing as one of the above.

3. Measure or estimate various distances and angles. An angle such as the angle that the Achilles tendon makes with the vertical can be estimated as this is usually fixed....