THE CORIOLIS EFFECT – WHAT’S GOING ON?

The subject of dynamics is fundamental to engineering programs in general, and can be challenging to teach. In particular, the topic of Coriolis acceleration and the “Coriolis effect” may present the greatest challenge of all. Although mathematical formulations and physical explanations are available in many textbooks and technical articles, undergraduate students still have trouble making meaningful and long-lasting connections between the mathematical expressions and the physical manifestations of the phenomenon. In our opinion, a significant part of the problem can be attributed to the traditional formulation of kinematic equations using rotating frames of reference. Normally, the Coriolis acceleration is defined, derived, and explained using at least one noninertial frame. At the University of Saskatchewan, our approach is to express the equations of rigid body dynamics solely with respect to a single inertial frame of reference, and to thereby solve all the problems that would otherwise be solved using rotating frames. We also use this approach for deriving and explaining the Coriolis effect. Although our approach is, in a sense, equivalent to the traditional method, we have found that students are better able to understand and apply the principles of dynamics when working within a single inertial frame. In this paper, our pedagogical approach will be presented and then applied to the question of “what’s going on” with the Coriolis effect