Dynamics Interactive with xAPI for SLS
This simulation allows students to explore the relationship between force, mass, and motion. By allowing students to add multiple force vectors (such as Tension, Friction, and Air...
IP3 03 Dynamics
Misconception: Skydiver goes up when parachute opens
When a parachute opens, many people think the parachutist suddenly shoots upward. This is not what really happens. The parachutist is always moving downward, but the parachute...
A dynamics problem - apparent weight
This is a problem posed by a student today: A boy of mass 40 kg is standing on a weighing machine inside a lift which is moving upwards. At a certain moment, the speed of the lift...
Bouncing ball with energy loss
This simulation offers a clear and interactive way to explore the motion of a ball bouncing on the ground, highlighting how displacement, velocity, and acceleration change over...
Simulation of Projectile Motion with Air Resistance
This simulation offers a hands-on and dynamic way to explore the physics of projectile motion with and without air resistance. By adjusting parameters such as launch velocity,...
Interactive System Schema Generator
I built this web app to help students draw system schemas, having blogged about this before . It is also available and optimised for download for SLS . Basic Instructions To add...
Use of System Schema to Visualise Action-Reaction Pairs
It is a common misconception for students to assume that when a book is placed on a table, its weight and the normal contact force acting on it are action-reaction pairs because...
Unequal masses attached to rod in free fall
Came across a question recently that many students answered incorrectly. Close to the surface of the Earth the gravitational field strength is uniform. A pair of unequal masses...
Man in Elevator
I just took the elevator in my apartment building with the PhyPhox mobile app and recorded the acceleration in the z-direction as the lift went down and up. This was done in the...
Newton's 2nd Law Applet
For a full-screen view, click here . <iframe scrolling="no" title="Dynamics Problem"...
Newton's 2nd Law Questions
Here are the steps to solving a problem involving Newton's 2nd law. Step 1: Draw a free body diagram - where possible, sketch a free body diagram to represent: the body isolated...
Free-Body Diagrams in Two-Body Motion
Students are often confused about the forces in drawing free-body diagrams, especially so when they have to consider the different parts of multiple bodies in motion....
Newton's 3rd Law
Activity 1: Propeller Cart (Predict, Observe and Explain) Activity 2: Untied Balloon A balloon is filled with air and released with its mouth downwards. Explain why it moves...
Newton's 2nd Law Experiment using Motion Sensor
For my students: To download the file and video for analysis using Tracker, right-click the file here... To verify the equation F = ma, where F is the resultant force on an...
Elevator Physics
In a recent IP3 class on Newton's 2nd Law, the students were presented the "Elevator Problem" based on the THINK Cycle approach - a version of inquiry-based learning that was...
3 Common Dynamics Mistakes
After going through the topic of Dynamics in the A-level syllabus recently, it strikes me that there are several common mistakes or misconceptions that students whom I have taught...