Principal Sponsors
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National Science Foundation
An independent federal agency created by Congress in 1950 to promote the progress of science.
King Saud University seeks to become a leader in educational and technological innovation, scientific discovery and creativity through fostering an atmosphere of intellectual inspiration and partnership for the prosperity of society.
The O'Donnell Foundation is devoted to building model programs to enhance the quality of education.
Ramp: Forces and Motion
Explore forces and motion as you push household objects up and down a ramp. Lower and raise the ramp to see how the angle of inclination affects the parallel forces. Graphs show forces, energy and work.
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Teaching Resources
Main Topics
- Force
- Position
- Velocity
- Acceleration
Sample Learning Goals
- Predict, qualitatively, how an external force will affect the speed and direction of an object's motion.
- Explain the effects with the help of a free body diagram.
- Use free body diagrams to draw position, velocity, acceleration and force graphs and vice versa.
- Explain how the graphs relate to one another.
- Given a scenario or a graph, sketch all four graphs.
Tips for Teachers
The teacher's guide (pdf) contains tips created by the PhET team.
Teaching Ideas
| Title | Authors | Level | Type | Updated |
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Ramp Middle School Inquiry
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Ariel Paul, Courtney Fadley | MS | Lab | 1/31/12 |
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Ramp: Forces and Motion Investigation
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Bruce Palmquist | HS UG-Intro |
Lab | 3/25/11 |
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Ramp lab
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Nathan Upchurch | HS | CQs | 12/22/10 |
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Concept questions for Physics using PhET (Inquiry Based)
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Trish Loeblein | HS UG-Intro |
CQs | 7/7/13 |
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Algebra-based Physics Semester one lessons, clicker questions, and schedule in pdf (Inquiry Based)
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Trish Loeblein | UG-Intro HS |
HW Demo CQs Lab |
7/20/13 |
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Ramp Activity 2: Calculating Net force on an incline (Inquiry Based)
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Trish Loeblein | UG-Intro HS |
CQs Lab |
7/9/13 |
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Ramp Activity 1: Using free body diagrams for motion on an incline (Inquiry Based)
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Trish Loeblein | HS UG-Intro |
Lab CQs |
7/9/13 |
| Forces Virtual Lab Ramp | Joanna MacDonald | HS UG-Intro |
Lab | 10/11/12 |
You can submit your own ideas and activities.
Translated Versions:
| Language | Language (Translated) | Simulation Title | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Afrikaans | Afrikaans | Oprit: Kragte en Beweging | Run Now | |
| Arabic | العربية | منحدر: القوى والحركة | Run Now | |
| Basque | Basque | Malda: Indarrak eta Higidura | Run Now | |
| Bosnian | Bosnian | STRMA RAVAN: SILE I KRETANJE | Run Now | |
| Brazilian Portuguese | português (Brasil) | Rampa: Forças e Movimento | Run Now | |
| Chinese - Simplified | 中文 (中国) | 斜坡：力与运动 | Run Now | |
| Chinese - Traditional | 中文 (台灣) | 斜坡：力與運動 | Run Now | |
| Croatian | hrvatski | Ramp: Forces and Motion | Run Now | |
| Danish | Dansk | Rampe: Kraften og bevægelse | Run Now | |
| Dutch | Nederlands | Ramp: Forces and Motion | Run Now | |
| Estonian | Eesti | Kaldpind: jõud ja liikumine | Run Now | |
| Finnish | suomi | Ramp: Forces and Motion | Run Now | |
| French | français | Rampe : Forces et Mouvement | Run Now | |
| Galician | Gallegan | Plano Inclinado: Forzas e movemento | Run Now | |
| German | Deutsch | Schiefe Ebene: Kräfte und Bewegung | Run Now | |
| Greek | Ελληνικά | Κεκλιμμένο επίπεδο: Δυνάμεις και Κίνηση | Run Now | |
| Haitian | Haitian | Pant: Fòs ak mouvman | Run Now | |
| Hebrew | עברית | הגדל את הכוחות והתנועה | Run Now | |
| Hungarian | magyar | Lejtő: erők és mozgás | Run Now | |
| Indonesian | Bahasa Indonesia | Gaya dan Gerak pada Bidang Miring | Run Now | |
| Italian | italiano | Piano inclinato: Forze e Moto | Run Now | |
| Japanese | 日本語 | 斜面：力と運動 | Run Now | |
| Kannada | Kannada | ಇಳಿಜಾರು : ಬಲ ಮತ್ತು ಚಲನೆ | Run Now | |
| Kazakh | Kazakh | Көлбеу жазықтық: Күштер және Қозғалыс | Run Now | |
| Khmer | Khmer | ជម្រាល ៖ កម្លាំង និងចលនា | Run Now | |
| Korean | 한국어 | 경사로: 힘과 운동 | Run Now | |
| Lithuanian | Lietuvių | Rampa: jega ir judesis | Run Now | |
| Macedonian | македонски | Рампа: Движења и сили | Run Now | |
| Malay | Bahasa Melayu | Tanjakan: Daya dan Gerakan | Run Now | |
| Marathi | Marathi | उतरण : बल आणि गती | Run Now | |
| Mongolian | Mongolian | Ramp: Forces and Motion | Run Now | |
| Persian | Persian | سطح شیبدار: نیروها و حرکت | Run Now | |
| Polish | polski | Równia pochyła: siły i ruch | Run Now | |
| Portuguese | português | Plano Inclinado: Forças e Movimento | Run Now | |
| Romanian | română | Mişcarea pe planul înclinat | Run Now | |
| Russian | русский | Наклонная плоскость: сила и движ. | Run Now | |
| Serbian | Српски | СТРМА РАВАН: СИЛЕ И КРЕТАЊЕ | Run Now | |
| Slovak | Slovenčina | Naklonená rovina: Sily a pohyb | Run Now | |
| Slovenian | Slovenščina | Ramp: Forces and Motion | Run Now | |
| Spanish | español | Rampa: Fuerzas y movimiento | Run Now | |
| Spanish (Peru) | español (Perú) | Rampa: Fuerzas y Movimiento | Run Now | |
| Swedish | svenska | Ramp: Kraft och rörelse | Run Now | |
| Thai | ไทย | พื้นเอียง: แรงและการเคลื่อนที่ | Run Now | |
| Turkish | Türkçe | Rampa: Kuvvet ve Hareket | Run Now | |
| Turkmen | Turkmen | Platforma: güýçler we hereket | Run Now | |
| Ukrainian | українська | Ramp: Forces and Motion | Run Now | |
| Vietnamese | Tiếng Việt | Mặt phẳng nghiêng: Lực và Chuyển động | Run Now |
Software Requirements
| Windows | Macintosh | Linux |
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Microsoft Windows
XP/Vista/7 Sun Java 1.5.0_15 or later |
OS 10.5 or later
Sun Java 1.5.0_19 or later |
Sun Java 1.5.0_15 or later |
Credits
| Design Team | Third-party Libraries | Thanks To |
|---|---|---|
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