Welcome to the

Multimedia Physics Studios

The physics animations linked by this page are best viewed using the Netscape (version 2.0 beta 4 or higher) browser. Other browsers (particularly older versions) may not support some of the animation formats listed on this page. The QuickTime movies are intended to be viewed within your Web browser window; doing so may require that you have the appropriate plug-ins installed on your computer. Technical information about QuickTime is available through the indicated links.

GIF Animations

1-Dimensional Kinematics

• Average vs. Instantaneous Speed (animation of a typical trip to school)
• Hot Wheels Track (direction of acceleration and velocity)
• Acceleration vs. Constant Velocity (a comparison of the motion of three cars)
• Constant Rightward Velocity (animation accompanied by graphs)
• Constant Leftward Velocity (animation accompanied by graphs)
• Rightward Velocity with a Rightward Acceleration (animation accompanied by graphs)
• Rightward Velocity with a Leftward Acceleration (animation accompanied by graphs)
• Leftward Velocity with a Leftward Acceleration (animation accompanied by graphs)
• Leftward Velocity with a Rightward Acceleration (animation accompanied by graphs)
• Passing Lane - Position vs. Time Graph
• Passing Lane - Velocity vs. Time Graph
• Motion of a Free-Falling Object (animation accompanied by graphs)
• Motion of a Free-Falling Object (animation accompanied by numerical display)
• The Stoplight (animation of a car accelerating from rest to pass another car)
• Motion of a Two-Stage Rocket

Newton's Laws

• Newton's Law of Inertia
  • The Car and The Wall
  • The Motorcyclist
  • The Truck and Ladder
    
• The Elephant and The Feather - Free Fall
• The Elephant and The Feather - with Air Resistance
• Skydiving
• The Falling Shingles

Vectors and Projectiles

• Vector Direction
• Vector Addition: 6 + 8 = ???
• The Plane and The Wind (animation of a plane under the influence of a headwind, tailwind, and crosswind)
• The River Boat
• The Monkey and The Zookeeper
  • Throw at the Monkey in a Gravity Free Environment
  • Throw above the Monkey with Gravity On
  • Throw at the Monkey at a Fast Speed with Gravity On
  • Throw at the Monkey at a Slow Speed with Gravity On
• Horizontally Launched Projectiles
• Non-Horizontally Launched Projectiles
• Maximum Range
• The Plane and The Package
• The Truck and The Ball
• A Satellite as a Projectile

Momentum and Collisions

• The Astronaut Catch
• The Diesel Engine and Flatcar Collision
• The Cart and The Brick
  • Part A - 2-kg Brick dropped on a 3-kg Cart
  • Part B - 2-kg Brick dropped on a 1-kg Cart
• The Fish Catch
  • Big Fish in Motion Catches Little Fish
  • Little Fish in Motion is Caught by Big Fish
    
• Car-Truck Collisions (collisions between objects of unequal mass)
  • Car "Rear-Ends" Truck - Inelastic
  • Truck "Rear-Ends" Car - Inelastic
  • Car "Rear-Ends" Truck - Elastic
  • Truck "Rear-Ends" Car - Elastic
  • Head-On Collision Between Car and Truck - Inelastic
  • Head-On Collision Between Car and Truck - Elastic
    
• Car-Car Collisions (collisions between objects of equal mass)
  • Head-On Collision (both cars are initially moving with identical speed)
  • Head-On Collision (cars are initially moving with different speeds)
  • Rear-End Collision (one car is initially at rest)
  • Rear-End Collision (both cars are initially in motion)
    
• Two Dimensional Collision Between Two Cars (a study of the vector nature of momentum)

Work and Energy

• It's All Uphill Lab
• Bar Chart Illustration for a Falling Ball
• Bar Chart Illustration for a Roller Coaster
• Bar Chart Illustration for a Trampoline
• Bar Chart Ilustration for a Spring Dart Gun
• The Velocity-Stopping Distance Relation
• The Energy of a Pendulum Lab
• Energy Conservation on an Incline Lab
• The Trampoline
• The Pole Vault

Circular, Satellite, and Rotational Motion

• Uniform Circular Motion
• Rotational Speed vs. Linear Speed
• Inertia and The Right Hand Turn
• Roller Coaster G-Forces
• Orbitting Satellites
• Kepler's Laws of Planetary Motion
  • First Law - The Law of Ellipses
  • Second Law - The Law of Equal Areas
  • Third Law - The Law of Harmonies
    
• Motion Characteristics of Orbitting Satellites
  
• Walking the Plank

Waves, Sound and Light

• Longitudinal Wave vs. Transverse Wave on a Slinky
• High Amplitdue vs. Low Amplitude Transverse Waves
• High Frequency vs. Low Frequency Transverse Waves
  
• Standing Waves on a String
  • 1st Harmonic
  • 2nd Harmonic
  • 3rd Harmonic
  • 4th Harmonic
  • 5th Harmonic
    
• Reflection of a Pulse at a Free End
• Reflection of a Pulse at a Fixed End
• Characteristics of a Transmitted Pulse
• Constructive Interference
• Destructive Interference
• Two-Point Source Interference

Ray Optics

• The Law of Relection
• Image Formation for Plane Mirrors
• Line of Sight Method of Image Location
• The Law of Reflection and Concave Mirrors
• Ray Diagrams for Concave Mirrors
  • Object Located Beyond the Center of Curvature
  • Object Located at the Center of Curvature
  • Object Located Between Center of Curvature and the Focal Point
  • Object Located In Front of Focal Point
• Image Formation for Concave Mirrors
  • Object located Beyond the Center of Curvature
  • Object located Between Center of Curvature and the Focal Point
    
• Ray Diagrams for Convex Mirrors
• Image Formation for Convex Mirrors
• Refraction of Light
• The Broken Pencil
• The Marching Soldiers

QuickTime Movies

1-Dimensional Kinematics

Newton's Laws

Vectors and Projectiles

• Horizontally Launched Projectile (animation of projectile launched horizontally)
• Non-Horizontally Launched Projectile (animation of projectile launched at angle)

Momentum and Collisions

• The Cart and The Brick (inelastic collision)
• Car-Truck Collisions (collisions between objects of unequal mass)
  • Car "Rear-Ends" Truck - Inelastic
  • Truck "Rear-Ends" Car - Inelastic
  • Head-On Collision Between Car and Truck - Inelastic
• Car-Car Collisions (collisions between objects of equal mass)

Work and Energy

• Roller Coaster (motion of a roller coaster car accompanied by energy bar charts)

Circular, Satellite, and Rotational Motion

Return to The Physics Classroom

Return to the GBS Physics Home Page

The Multimedia Physics Studios was recognized by Learning in Motion as one of the
Top Ten educational sites on the WWW for the months of April-May, 1997.

This page created by Tom Henderson of Glenbrook South High School.

Comments and suggestions can be sent by e-mail to Tom Henderson.

This page last updated on 6/30/97.