Physlets

Physlets, i.e. Physics Applets, are small flexible Java applets designed for science education. But of course, they are also very useful for mathematics education, so we should use them whenever we can! We can use it for moving objects, including springs and pendulums. Plus we have the didactical advantage of connecting physical movement, graphs, tables and formulae! I show a few examples I have been working on ...

MOTION PICTURES
Wait for the applet to completely load, then click on the "(re)start" button ... Click "HELP!" for help!

The animation shows the motion of three balls. Decribe the movement of each ball in words. How are they the same and how are they different?

Click in the applet to take measurements. Make a table of the x-position of each ball after 1 second, 2 seconds, ... What patterns do you notice?

PICTURE-GRAPH-TABLE
Wait for the applet to load. First click on an animation link, then on the "(re)start" button ...

Animation 1 Animation 2 Animation 3 Animation 4 Animation 5

What is the relationship between the picture, the table and the graph?
How are the movements in the different animations different? Formulate the differences in terms of the picture, the graph and the table ...
Can you find formulas as algebraic models for the position of each ball as a function of time?
What physical quantities are represented by the "y-intercept" and the gradient of the graph?

Note: We can therefore get data from a picture in three ways: through measurement (click and read the co-ordinates), by including a table, and by including text moving with the object. The choice is therefore a didactical variable.

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