The Rotational Motion Interactive is an adjustable-size file that displays nicely on smart phones, on tablets such as the iPad, on Chromebooks, and on laptops and desktops. The size of the Interactive can be scaled to fit the device that it is displayed on. The compatibility with smart phones, iPads, other tablets, and Chromebooks make it a perfect tool for use in a 1:1 classroom.

 

This Interactive is intended for use in the early stages of a learning cycle on rotational motion. Learners can modify the location of the bugs and the angular velocity of the rotating disk. Plots of the vertical position of either bug as a function of time are displayed. The default graph is for the ladybug; the ant's graph can be toggled on and off. The sinusoidal nature of the bug's rotationi becomes quite evident from the graph. The ruler can be dragged about the simulation area. Increments on the ruler are scaled to 5-cm (minor) and 10-cm (major) increments. The use of the ruler allows a learner to explore the relationship between the angular velocity, linear velocity and distance from the center of the disk. 

As of this time, The Physics Classroom has not prepared any activities for use with this Interactive. We are confident that teachers who use our website will come up with plenty of great ideas for using the Rotational Motion Interactive and we invite you to share those ideas with us. Please share your ideas on our social media websites:

 

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Drats! If we had more time, we would have more resources. As of this writing, there are no resources at The Physics Classroom that pertain to the topic of rotational motion. We expect that someday that will change. We don't know when "someday" is but we assure you that we are pedaling as fast as we can.

 

 

The Physics Classroom would like to extend a special thanks to Nerd Island Studios for the creation of this HTML5 Interactive. Visit http://www.nerdislandstudios.com to see more great stuff by Nerd Island Studios.