Motion and projectiles
9 ready-made scenes and Python scripts. Each opens in the studio; press Play to run it, then change anything: masses, lengths, the forces, what the graphs show.
- Projectile Motion Research
A ball launched at 14 m/s and 40°: x runs at a constant speed, y under g. Range R = v₀² sin 2θ / g and the height against its theory curve. - Terminal Velocity Research
Three 2 kg blocks fall: in a vacuum, as a skydiver (F = −kv²) and with a parachute. v approaches √(mg/k) and the weight is balanced by the drag. - Four Models of Air Resistance Research
Four balls dropped in air: no drag, F = −bv, F = −kv² and the shape model ½ρC_dAv². Compare their speeds and the energy they lose. - The Monkey and the Hunter Research
A dart is aimed straight at a monkey that lets go at the instant of the shot. Both fall by ½gt², so the dart hits whatever its speed: the distance between them shrinks at exactly v₀. - The Chase: Car and Truck Research
A truck passes at 6 m/s; a car 4 m behind starts from rest at 2 m/s². They meet when ½at² − vt − gap = 0, and the gap is widest when the speeds are equal. - The Fastest Slope: Brachistochrone Research
A straight track, a circular arc and a cycloid from the same start to the same end. The straight one is shortest; the cycloid is fastest: 1.00 s against 1.19 s. - Experiment: launch angles and range Python Research
Launch a ball at five angles, one after the other; the table has the range against R = v₀² sin 2θ / g. - One ball falling on every world Python Research
The same 10 m drop on the Moon, Mars, Earth, Jupiter and the Sun, timed against t = √(2h/g). - The best kick with air drag (a golden-section search) Python Research
A football kicked at 25 m/s in air: the script searches for the angle of the longest kick, which is not 45°.