How to Use the Newton's Second Law - Basics Simulator
 

View & Playback

• Use the view options to set the simulator to light mode, dark mode, or landscape mode. Light and Dark are simplified "scientific" views where landscape offers a slightly less abstract view of what's happening. 

• Use playback to start, pause, or reset the simulator after the parameters have been set to your specifications.  

• Under the play and reset buttons are buttons to control the speed that the simulator runs at to make it easier to see what's happening. 
   

Parameters

• Use this section to set the conditions of the scenario to your own specifications.  See how modifying mass, force, direction, or gravitational field strength all affect the acceleration of an object. 
   

Friction

• Use this to toggle whether the surface is considered smooth (frictionless) or rough.  If you enable this you will then have the ability to adjust the coefficient of friction 
  Note for teachers: it doesn't specify static vs. kinetic friction as this isn't meant to be the focus of this particular simulator, it is possible to set friction large enough where the block won't accelerate.  
   

Calculated Forces

• This section gives you a live readout of the relevant data as the simulator runs.  Use this section to see how things change quantitatively as you adjust other variables in the parameters section or simply use it as a check for your own calculations. 
   

Display

• Use these options to toggle what's included in the canvas (main window) of the simulator.  
  Note for teachers: this can be helpful for taking quick screenshots of scenarios to paste into a problem set or assessment for you to generate lots of basic practice problems. 

• Motion Graphs — adds live Position, Velocity, and Acceleration plots below the block once turned on.  Move your cursor over the graph to see the data at any given moment in time. 
   

Challenge Mode (Test your understanding!)

• Difficulty: Easy, Medium, Hard
  Easy: the numbers are very basic to compute, friendly integer numbers that most could do without the need of a calculator. 
  Medium: slightly more difficult numbers to compute but still focuses on everything happening purely horizontally
  Hard: Forces can now be applied at angles so the vector components of the applied forces must be taken into consideration. 

• Include Friction toggle (adds friction to the challenge scenario)

• A "Given" panel lists the known values (mass, target acceleration, friction, gravity)

• The task is to calculate the missing Applied Force or acceleration depending on what's randomly generated. 

• If you're stuck on a challenge there is a button to provide a hint to help you progress.  
  Mastery tip: If you run into challenges where you need hints, don't be afraid to use them! Just make sure you keep trying them until you don't need the hints anymore!

• Enter your answer (N) and click Check

• New Challenge generates a new scenario
   

Lab Mode

• Choose a lab to investigate:

  • How does applied force affect acceleration? force is your independent variable, acceleration is your dependent variable, mass is your constant variable.  Collect data and see if you can figure out the physical meaning of the slope of the graph and how it relates to the mass of the object.  

  • How does mass affect acceleration? mass is your independent variable, acceleration is your dependent variable, applied force is your constant variable.  Collect data and see if you can figure out the physical meaning of the slope of the graph and how it relates to the applied force acting on the object.  

• To record data simply set your parameters relevant to the experiment then his the "record data point" button.  It will automatically log the resulting data in a table and plot it. 

• After you've recorded your data point, change your independent variable in the parameters section then hit the "record data point" button again.  

  • Once you have a minimum of five data points your graph will be complete.  If it's already linear then it will automatically report the slope of the line.  If it isn't linear then you'll have the option to linearize it. 

  • Take note of what function linearizes it and how that can relate the variables. 

• Once you've figured out the physical meaning of the slope, use it to see if you can figure out the value of your constant variable.  If you get it wrong it will automatically provide some feedback on how to progress.  

  • If you're doing this for a class and need to show your data you can click on the "copy" button in the top right corner of the data table and graph to paste them into a document to submit to your teacher. (or teachers, feel free to use this in a pinch to make a graph of data for your students to analyze themselves on an assignment). 
     

Live Readout

• Net Force, Acceleration, Velocity, Position, and Time — update live while the simulation plays