MOTION IN THE CITY
 Wait for the applet to completely load!

Type a function in the box.
Use * for multiplication.

 x(t) = 

Then click 'GO' to see the resulting motion and graph!

 

Explore how different formulae control the motion of the green truck and see what you can learn from it!
Enter different formulae and observe the resulting motion. Look for patterns between formulae, the resulting motion of the truck, and the resulting graph of the motion. Try to predict the motion and the graph!

In order to find patterns, you should systematically vary the parameters, for example you should try at least the formulae below. Try to keep the truck on the screen! You can copy and paste the formulae if you pefer.

  1. 3*t (be sure to use the * symbol for multiplication), 4*t, 5*t, -2*t, -3*t, 0,5*t, ...
  2. 3*t+10, 3*t+20, 3*t+40, 3*t-10, 3*t-20
  3. t^2  (note that t^2 is equivalent to t*t), 3*t^2, 5*t^2, -2*t^2, 0,5*t^2, ...
  4. 3*t^2-20, 3*t^2-10, 3*t^2+20, ...
  5. 3*t^2+2*t, 3*t^2-2*t, ...
  6. 3*t^2+2*t-20, 3*t^2+2*t-10, 3*t^2+2*t-20, ...
  7. (t-5)^2, -(t-5)^2, 20-(t-5)^2
  8. t*(t-5), t*(5-t), (t-3)*(t-7), ...
  9. t*(t-4)*(t-8), t*t*(t-1)*(t-4)*(t-6), ...
  10. 10/t, -10/t, ...
  11. 20*sin(t), 20*cos(t), 10*tan(t),...

Try some others for the practice!  Try to keep the truck on the screen!

Note: You are actualy controlling the motion of the small red ball at the rear of the truck, i.e. the position of the truck is taken at the red dot. The motion of the red dot on the graph corresponds to the motion of the red dot on the truck!

Note: After a graph has completed drawing, you can right-click on the graph - the graph will open in a new window which you can resize and maximise for a better view.