Hot Hits at The Physics Classroom

Every Saturday we highlight three resources that have received particularly heavy traffic from website visitors during the past week. This week's winners are …

1.Frequency and Period of a Wave at The Tutorial

The Waves chapter has been showing some rather significant traffic in the past few weeks. Pages such as the Frequency and Period of a Wave have begun to show up among the most popular of pages on our website. Like all our Tutorial pages, concepts are introduced in an easy-to-understand language and supported by informative graphics. The page ends with a Check Your Understanding section that allows learners to conduct a self-assessment.

https://www.physicsclassroom.com/class/waves/Lesson-2/Frequency-and-Period-of-a-Wave

2. Interference Concept Builder

The Wave Interference Concept Builder targets student understanding of what interference is, of the distinction between constructive and destructive interference, and of how the principle of superposition can be used to determine the shape of the resultant wave (or wave sum) that results from the interference of two waves. There are 20 total questions organized into 10 different Question Groups and spread across three different activities. The activities are titled To Construct or To Destruct, The Principle of Superposition, and Sum It Up.

https://www.physicsclassroom.com/Concept-Builders/Waves-and-Sound/Interference

3. Simple Wave Simulator at The Physics Interactives

This week's top Interactive was the Simple Wave Simulator Interactive. This Interactive is part of our Waves and Sound collection. The Interactive allows learners to explore wave mathematics and concepts. The simulator depicts a traveling wave on a rope or a sound wave moving through a column of air. Users can alter the frequency, speed and amplitude of the wave and see immediate changes in the simulation. The distinction between particle motion and wave motion is immediately obvious as learners watch the disturbance move and three "tagged" particles vibrate about a fixed position. The Interactive works well on tablets such as the iPad, on Chromebooks, and on mobile devices.

https://www.physicsclassroom.com/Physics-Interactives/Waves-and-Sound/Simple-Wave-Simulator

Hot Hits at The Physics Classroom

Every Saturday we highlight three resources that have received particularly heavy traffic from website visitors during the past week. This week's winners are …

1.Potential Energyat The Tutorial

One of the most visited pages at The Physics Classroom this week was the Potential Energy page found in the Work, Energy, and Power chapter of The Physics Classroom Tutorial. This Tutorial page helps learners to understand the various forms of potential energy and the variables that affect the amount. It is the third page in our 5-page lesson on Work, Energy, and Power. 

https://www.physicsclassroom.com/class/energy/Lesson-1/Potential-Energy

2. Rocking the Boat Concept Builder

The Rocking the Boat Concept Builder presents the learner with a problem about two boats anchored in a harbor and rocking up and down in the presence of waves that are entering the harbor. Given a description of the motion of the two boats, learners must determine the wavelength, frequency, period, amplitude, and speed of the water waves. There are 27 total questions that are organized into nine different Question Groups and spread across three difficulty levels. The three different levels of difficulty are distinguished from one another in terms of the number of problems and the degree of variation from one problem to the next. The built-in score-keeping makes this Concept Builder a perfect candidate for a classroom activity.

https://www.physicsclassroom.com/Concept-Builders/Waves-and-Sound/Wave-Properties

3. Put the Charge in the Goal at The Physics Interactives

Our Static Electricity Interactives received a lot of attention this past week. One of the top Interactives was our Put the Charge in the Goal. This simulation offers students a rigorous mental challenge as they attempt to use electric fields created by test charges in order to guide an electrically charged puck around obstacles and into a goal. A take-off on the Electric Field Hockey simulation, Put the Charge in the Goal includes several levels that differ in terms of the intricacy of the obstacles. Give your students a gamification experience with Put the Charge in the Goal at ...

https://www.physicsclassroom.com/Physics-Interactives/Static-Electricity/Put-the-Charge-in-the-Goal

Hot Hits at The Physics Classroom

Every Saturday we highlight three resources that have received particularly heavy traffic from website visitors during the past week. This week's winners are …

1.Momentum Conservation Principle at The Tutorial

One of our top Tutorial pages this week was our page on the Momentum Conservation Principle. This is a second page of a six-page lesson focusing on how to understand and analyze a collision or an explosion. The page begins with a logical presentation of the basis for the law of momentum conservation. It then explains the meaning of momentum conservation using an analogy with money conservation in a financial transaction. The two characteristics of momentum conservation are clearly described: the momentum change of one object is equal and opposite to that of a second object and the total system momentum is the same before and after the collision or explosion. The page combines graphics, tables of numerical data, examples, videos and a Check Your Understanding section to bring learners to a clear understanding of what momentum conservation involves.

https://www.physicsclassroom.com/class/momentum/Lesson-2/Momentum-Conservation-Principle

2. Wavelength Concept Builder

The Wavelength Concept Builder is a tool that guides a learner through the meaning of wavelength as the length of the repeating pattern towards being able to calculate the wavelength if given a pattern and the length of the pattern. There are three activities included in this Concept Builder. The first activity - Wave Anatomy - provides the learner practice with identifying crests and troughs in a transverse wave pattern and compressions and rarefactions in a longitudinal wave pattern. In the second activity - Counting Waves - learners must determine the number of waves displayed in a transverse wave pattern. In the third activity - Determining Wavelength - learners calculated the wavelength of a wave when provided a transverse wave pattern and the length of the given pattern. 

https://www.physicsclassroom.com/Concept-Builders/Waves-and-Sound/Wavelength

3. Collision Carts at The Physics Interactives

This week's top Interactive was the Collision Carts Interactive. This Interactive allows learners to explore the conservation of momentum for collisions and explosions. The pre-collision mass and velocities can be set and the post-collisions velocities can be used to determine the total system momentum. A couple of ready-to-use exercises are available for teachers who wish to use the Interactive with their classes. The Interactive works well on tablets such as the iPad, on Chromebooks, and on mobile devices, making it a perfect tool for the 1:1 classroom.

https://www.physicsclassroom.com/Physics-Interactives/Momentum-and-Collisions/Collision-Carts

Hot Hits at The Physics Classroom

Every Saturday we highlight three resources that have received particularly heavy traffic from website visitors during the past week. This week's winners are …

1.Newton's Third Law at The Tutorial

Pages on Newton's Laws are always popular pages on our website. This week, the Newton's Third Law page at our Tutorial was particularly popular. This is the first of a two-page lesson describing Newton's so-called law of action-reaction. There are so many misconceptsions among students regarding the topic; the lesson addresses common misconceptions and difficulties. Force is described as a push or pull that results from an object's interaction with another object. As the page puts it, "forces always come in pairs" - action-reaction force pairs (or better yet, interaction force pairs).

https://www.physicsclassroom.com/class/newtlaws/Lesson-4/Newton-s-Third-Law

2. Interference Concept Builder

The Wave Interference Concept Builder targets student understanding of what interference is, of the distinction between constructive and destructive interference, and of how the principle of superposition can be used to determine the shape of the resultant wave (or wave sum) that results from the interference of two waves. There are 20 total questions organized into 10 different Question Groups and spread across three different activities.

https://www.physicsclassroom.com/Concept-Builders/Waves-and-Sound/Interference

3. Roller Coaster Model at The Physics Interactives

One of this week's hottest simulations was the Roller Coaster Model. This Interactive allows a learner to study the interplay between forces, accelerations, velocities, and kinetic and potential energies for a roller coaster car. The track can be modified by lowering and raising strategic locations and by changing the amount of curvature of loops and hills. The simulation is accompanied by a classroom-ready exercise. It is an HTML5, mobile-friendly Interactive that suits itself as an ideal accompaniment to any classroom, but especially for the 1:1 classroom.

https://www.physicsclassroom.com/Physics-Interactives/Newtons-Laws/Free-Body-Diagrams

Hot Hits at The Physics Classroom

Every Saturday we highlight three resources that have received particularly heavy traffic from website visitors during the past week. This week's winners are …

1.Kinematic Equations - Sample Problems and Solutionsat The Tutorial

This is the fifth page of a 6-page lesson that provides a considerable amount of detail on kinematic equations, their connections to graphs, and their use in solving problems. This page includes 20 problems of varying degree of difficulty. Each problem is accompanied by an answer and a solution. Being the fifth page in the lesson, it provides users ample opportunity to practice the concepts and practices that preceed it. For Physics students having troubles with solving kinematic problems, this page is a must read.

https://www.physicsclassroom.com/class/1DKin/Lesson-6/Sample-Problems-and-Solutions

2. Charge and Charging Concept Builder

The Charge and Charging Concept Builder engages the learner in exploring the manner in which objects become electrostatically charged in terms of protons and electrons. There are 38 total questions that are organized into 16 different Question Groups and spread across three Activities. The three activities include Particle Count, Get Into the Flow, and Analyze This! Activity 1 - Particle Count challenges learners to compare the relative number of protons and electrons for neutral, positively-charged, and negatively-charged objects. In Activity 2 -Get Into the Flow, learners identify how objects beome charged positively or negatively and how they become neutral if previously charged. And in Activity 3 - Analyze This!, learners must apply what they have learned in the first two activities to analyze an electrostatic phenomenon. 

https://www.physicsclassroom.com/Concept-Builders/Static-Electricity/Charge-And-Charging

3. Free-Body Diagram Interactive at The Physics Interactives

Like all our Interactives, the Free-Body Diagram Interactive gained a lot of ground as one of our most popular Interactives. With its challenging questions, immediate feedback, chances for correction, and built-in scoring, it's not surprising that it was. 

https://www.physicsclassroom.com/Physics-Interactives/Newtons-Laws/Free-Body-Diagrams

Hot Hits at The Physics Classroom

Every Saturday we highlight three resources that have received particularly heavy traffic from website visitors during the past week. This week's winners are …

1.Newton's Law of Universal Gravitation at The Tutorial

One of the most visited pages at The Physics Classroom this week was a page in our Circular Motion and Satellite Motion chapter of the Tutorial. Learners flocked to the Newton's Law of Universal Gravitation page all week long. The page introduces Newton's law regarding mass attraction and demonstrates its use both in thinking proportionally and in solving problems. Illustrations and sample problems are combined with logic-filled writing to help the reader understand the law at both the conceptual and mathematical level.

https://www.physicsclassroom.com/class/circles/Lesson-3/Newton-s-Law-of-Universal-Gravitation

2. Coulomb's Law Concept Builder

The Coulombs Law Concept Builder is a tool that allows the learner to predict the effect of varying charge and varying separation distance upon the electrical force with which two charged attract or repel each other. There are 16 different situations to analyze and three ability levels. Each situation requires that the learner use proportional reasoning and Coulomb's Law of Electrical Force in order to determine the force that would result when one or more of the object charges and/or the separation distance between objects is altered. Question-specific help is provided for each of the 16 situations. The built-in score-keeping makes this Concept Builder a perfect candidate for a classroom activity.

https://www.physicsclassroom.com/Concept-Builders/Static-Electricity/Coulombs-Law

3. Gravitational Fields Interactive at The Physics Interactives

School administrators generally do not allow physics classes to take field trips to other planets to study gravitational forces. And it is rather difficult to change the mass of the earth or the moon in an effort to see if such changes have an effect upon the gravitational force. But with this Interactive, changing the masses of planets and moons and the distance that separates them is a snap. And by doing so, a learner can discover the law of universal gravitation without ever leaving home or school. 

https://www.physicsclassroom.com/Physics-Interactives/Circular-and-Satellite-Motion/Gravitational-Fields

Hot Hits at The Physics Classroom

Every Saturday we highlight three resources that have received particularly heavy traffic from website visitors during the past week. This week's winners are …

1.Kepler's Three Laws at The Tutorial

Kepler's Three Laws at the Tutorial We've seen a lot of traffic to our circular motion and satellite motion pages this past week. One page that has seen a lot of attention is the Kepler's three laws page at our Physics Classroom Tutorial. The law of ellipses, the law of equal areas, and the law of harmonies are all described and illustrated using words and graphics. The page ends with a lengthy Check Your Understanding section. Learners are presented with questions whose answers can be quickly checked with the click of a button. 

https://www.physicsclassroom.com/class/circles/Lesson-4/Kepler-s-Three-Laws

2. Charge and Charging Concept Builder

The Work Concept Builder is a tool that challenges learners to use an understanding of work and its relationship to energy to analyze numerous situations involving positive and negative work in order to identify the manner in which energy is changing and the forms of energy that are involved. There are 14 different situations to analyze and three different activities, each with its own emphasis. In Activity 1, learners identify whether a situation involves positive work, negative work, or zero work. In Activity 2, learners identify which force is doing work and whether the work contributes to a gain or loss in energy. In Activity 3, learners describe the forms or storage modes of energy that are involved in the situation. The built-in score-keeping makes this Concept Builder a perfect candidate for a classroom activity.

https://www.physicsclassroom.com/Concept-Builders/Static-Electricity/Charge-And-Charging

3. Aluminum Can Polarization at The Physics Interactives

The Aluminum Can Polarization Interactive allows learners to visualize the underlying cause for the attraction between a charged and an uncharged object. The uncharged object is an aluminum can at rest on a level surface. The charged object is either a glass rod or a rubber rod. The charged object can be brought near to the uncharged object and the resulting interaction is clearly observed. But more importantly, the response of electrons within the aluminum can is depicted in the animation.

https://www.physicsclassroom.com/Physics-Interactives/Static-Electricity/Aluminum-Can-Polarization

Hot Hits at The Physics Classroom

Every Saturday we highlight three resources that have received particularly heavy traffic from website visitors during the past week. This week's winners are …

1. Momentum Conservation Principle Work at The Tutorial

One of our top Tutorial pages this week was our page on the Momentum Conservation Principle. This is a second page of a six-page lesson focusing on how to understand and analyze a collision or an explosion. The page begins with a logical presentation of the basis for the law of momentum conservation. It then explains the meaning of momentum conservation using an analogy with money conservation in a financial transaction. The two characteristics of momentum conservation are clearly described: the momentum change of one object is equal and opposite to that of a second object and the total system momentum is the same before and after the collision or explosion. The page combines graphics, tables of numerical data, examples, videos and a Check Your Understanding section to bring learners to a clear understanding of what momentum conservation involves.

https://www.physicsclassroom.com/class/momentum/Lesson-2/Momentum-Conservation-Principle

2. Momentum and Impulse Concept Builder

The Being Impulsive About Momentum Change Concept Builder is designed to help students build an understanding of the impulse-momentum change theorem. The main outcomes are an understanding of how an impulse changes the momentum of an object from an initial state to a final state. There are three difficulty levels in the Concept Builder - Apprentice, Master, and Wizard. Question-specific help is provided for each question. The built-in score-keeping makes this Concept Builder a perfect candidate for a classroom activity.

https://www.physicsclassroom.com/Concept-Builders/Momentum-and-Collisions/Impulse-Momentum-Change

3. Egg Drop Simulation at The Physics Interactives

The Egg Drop Interactive provides a virtual egg drop activity. Learners can vary the mass of the egg that is dropped, the height from which it is dropped, and the surface onto which it is dropped. The egg drop is simulated and the result is displayed. The impulse-momentum change theorem is used to show how the force is calculated from the egg drop parameters that are selected. The Interactive provides a eggcellent demonstration of how alterations in one variable affect another variable.

https://www.physicsclassroom.com/Physics-Interactives/Momentum-and-Collisions/Egg-Drop

Hot Hits at The Physics Classroom

Every Saturday we highlight three resources that have received particularly heavy traffic from website visitors during the past week. This week's winners are …

1.Definition and Mathematics of Work at The Tutorial

A very popular page at The Physics Classroom Tutorial was the page titled Definition and Mathematics of Work. The page lays the foundation for understanding mechanical work and its connection to energy. The page combines informative text written in an everyday style, graphics, widgets, a quick quiz and more. 

https://www.physicsclassroom.com/class/energy/Lesson-1/Definition-and-Mathematics-of-Work

2. Momentum Concept Builder

The Momentum Concept Builder is designed to help students build an understanding of momentum. The main outcomes are an understanding of the dependence of momentum on mass and velocity and the vector nature of momentum. There are three activities in the Concept Builder - What's Happening With Momentum?, Momentum Ranking Tasks, and Getting Direction on Momentum. Question-specific help is provided for each question. The built-in score-keeping makes this Concept Builder a perfect candidate for a classroom activity.

https://www.physicsclassroom.com/Concept-Builders/Momentum-and-Collisions/Momentum

3. Uniform Circular Motion at The Physics Interactives

One of this week's top Interactive was the Uniform Circular Motion Interactive. This Interactive is part of our Circular and Satellite Motion collection. The Interactive allows learners to explore the concepts and mathematics associated with objects moving in circles at a constant speed. The Interactive has controls for modifying the object mass and speed and the radius of the circle. The acceleration and net force are reported on a digital display. Velocity and acceleration vectors can be toggled on an off. The Interactive is accompanied by an activity sheet that can be used by teachers with their classes. The Interactive works well on tablets such as the iPad, on Chromebooks, and on most mobile devices. 

https://www.physicsclassroom.com/Physics-Interactives/Circular-and-Satellite-Motion/Uniform-Circular-Motion