Orientation of a Snowboard

The physical orientation of a ski or snowboard may change dramatically during a sport. These changes may include rotation in the x, y, and z axes of a full 360 degrees or more.

What does rotation look like in a graph? Consider the graph below, excerpted from a book series by Schottenbauer Publishing.

Discussion Questions

1. How many rotations are shown on the graph?
2. Identify the time segments of each of the rotations.
3. What is the length of the time of each rotation?
4. Describe each rotation in terms of degrees or radians of rotation in the x, y, and z axes. 
5. [Advanced Question] Describe each rotation in terms of angular coordinates.
6. What is the angular velocity of each rotation?
7. What would the graph look like if the skateboard were rotated the opposite direction around the center axis? Sketch the graphs.
8. What would the graph look like if the skateboard were rotated around the other two axes? Sketch the graphs.

Additional Information

Schottenbauer Publishing

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