Category Archives: Unit 3

Charges & fields observations

https://phet.colorado.edu/sims/html/charges-and-fields/latest/charges-and-fields_en.html This great learning object from PhET is great tool for discussion in the Physics classroom, as well as a powerful simulation of actual values. Here are three interesting screen shots that can be used as basis for discussions. This … Continue reading

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Professor Dave – Electric Charge and Electric Fields

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Veritasium – Why Are Astronauts Weightless?

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How Do Satellites Get & Stay in Orbit?

SciShow Space takes you into Low Earth Orbit to explain how artificial satellites get up there and stay there — at least for a while.

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PhET – Charges and Fields

Arrange positive and negative charges in space and view the resulting electric field and electrostatic potential. Plot equipotential lines and discover their relationship to the electric field. Create models of dipoles, capacitors, and more! (Choose the fullscreen option down the … Continue reading

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Gravitational energy vs height

Open the embedded graph to change the value of h and calculate the gravitational potential energy / kg at different heights. Can you estimate the kinetic energy needed to escape the Earth’s gravitational field?

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Gravitational field strength graph

Investigate the value of g (m/s2) varying with distance (km) from the surface of the Earth.

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PhET – Gravity force lab

Visualize the gravitational force that two objects exert on each other. Adjust properties of the objects to see how changing the properties affects the gravitational attraction. (Choose the fullscreen option down the bottom right hand corner.) https://phet.colorado.edu/en/simulation/gravity-force-lab

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PhET – Gravity And Orbits

Move the sun, earth, moon and space station to see how it affects their gravitational forces and orbital paths. Visualize the sizes and distances between different heavenly bodies, and turn off gravity to see what would happen without it! (Choose … Continue reading

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What Is Gravity?

People have a lot of different ideas about what gravity is: a downward force that stops you from flying off into space, an attraction smaller objects experience towards larger objects, or a mutual attraction between all masses. It is the … Continue reading

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