Notes:
The ProjectileSim by KirbyX 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.
Teaching Ideas and Suggestions:
This Interactive is intended for use near the beginning to middle stages of a learning cycle on projectile motion. This Interactive could be used as the medium through which students could explore open-ended questions proposed by the instructor or by the student. Examples of such open-ended questions include:
- What angle will cause a projectile to travel the furthest?
- What variables affect how high a projectile will rise?
- What is the relationship between launch height and horizontal displacement for a horizontally-launched projectile?
- What is the relationship between the launch height and the time of flight for a horizontally-launched projectile?
- What is the relationship between launch speed and the maximum height for an angle-launched projectile?
- For a launch height of ______ meters (fill-in-the-blank), what angle will cause a projectile to travel the furthest? Does the answer depend on the launch speed or is the optimum angle the same for any launch speed?
The idea of such open-ended questions would be to challenge students to design their own procedure, to collect data from the simulation, to make a claim as to what the answer to the question is, and to support the claim with evidence and reasoning. Used in this manner, the emphasis is more on the development of experimental design skills in addition to the development of an understanding of projectile motion.
Related Resources
There are numerous resources at The Physics Classroom website that serve as very complementary supports for the ProjectileSim by KirbyX Interactive. These include:
- Minds On Physics Internet Modules:
The Minds On Physics Internet Modules include a collection of interactive questioning modules that help learners assess their understanding of physics concepts and solidify those understandings by answering questions that require higher-order thinking. Assignments VP7, VP8, VP9, and VP10 of the Vectors and Projectiles module provide great complements to this Interactive. They are best used in the middle to later stages of the learning cycle. Visit the Minds On Physics Internet Modules.
- Curriculum/Practice: There is a single, multiu-page Concept Development think-sheet at the Curriculum Corner that would be very useful in assisting students in cultivating their understanding. It is named
Projectile Motion
Visit the Curriculum Corner.
- Labwork:
Simulations should always support (never supplant) hands-on learning. The Laboratory section of The Physics Classroom website includes several hands-on ideas that complement this Interactive. Six notable lab ideas include ...
Basketball Analysis
Launcher Speed
Projectile Problem-Solving I
Projectile Problem-Solving II
Maximum Range
Hit the Target
Visit The Laboratory.
Additional resources and ideas for incorporating the ProjectileSim by KirbyX into an instructional unit on projectile motion can be found at the
Teacher Toolkits section of The Physics Classroom website. Visit
Teacher Toolkits.
Credits
We owe a special thanks to Physics teacher Martin Kirby for contributing the
ProjectileSim by KirbyX to our Interactives collection. Martin has contributed many other simulations to our Interactives collection. You can view them all by visiting our page listing all
Martin Kirby Simulations. Or visit Martin's website (
kirbyx.com) to learn more.