Pushing Things Around [PhET]

I like what PhET has done with Forces and Motion: Basics. In the Net Force section, a tug of war can be arranged with various players. If teams are composed symmetrically, neither will win. But there are other ways to bring about a tie. And what happens if one team is winning, the sim is paused, and the teams are recomposed so that the forces are now balanced, and the sim is unpaused?

In the Motion and Acceleration sections, the relationship between force, mass, and acceleration can be observed. And did you make your your mannequin faceplant?

Pushing Things Around [PhET] at Teachers Pay Teachers

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Answer Key

Does not include ... a summative question to tie the observations into an explicit declaration of Newton's second law: a = F/m. This activity is used in preparation for an in-class, hands-on activity involving carts, masses, and motion tracking apparatus. I left the summation to that activity.