Sauntering Sauropods: The Preferred Walking Speeds of the Largest Land Animals That Ever Lived

• Scott A. Lee ^[1] ; Justyna Slowiak ^[2]
  1. [1] University of Toledo

     University of Toledo

     City of Toledo, Estados Unidos

     
  2. [2] Institute of Paleobiology

     Institute of Paleobiology

     Warszawa, Polonia

     
• Localización: The Physics Teacher, ISSN 0031-921X, Vol. 63, Nº. 1, 2025, págs. 20-22
• Idioma: inglés
• Texto completo no disponible (Saber más ...)
• Resumen

  • Motion is a fundamental part of every introductory physics course. Here we present the exciting example of calculating the walking speed of sauropod dinosaurs via the inverted pendulum model1 of walking by using kinematics, Newton’s second law of motion (in rotational form), and simple harmonic motion. This methodology is first applied to humans, horses of various sizes, and the elephant Elephas maximus to demonstrate its validity and to provide an estimate of the uncertainties associated with this simple model of walking. The students then find that the enormous sauropod dinosaurs (the largest animals that have ever lived on land) walked at speeds very similar to modern animals. A human would have been able to walk alongside even the largest sauropod with relative ease.