JiTT using Physlets: Introductory Mechanics

Projectile Motion

Honors Preflight #6

This preflight opens in a new window because it exploits two side-by-side standalone frames, one of which contains the explanatory text and questions in the preflight assignment, and the other of which is a "pop-up" frame that contains the physlet. This two-frame format works well with our students and decouples the descriptions and instructions from the actual simulation. This preflight has been used as a prelab activity before a projectile motion lab with traditional hands-on equipment.

Collisions

Honors Preflight #26

This is a non-Physlet-based preflight with an intentionally planned Physlet in-class followup activity. Students work either as a class or in teams to determine the ratio of the masses in the physlet (click the "In-class Physlet activity" link on the preflight page to get to the in-class activity). Having the preflight question be very open-ended and then following up with an in-class discussion of student responses and the Physlet-based activity seems to be a good combination.

Oscillations

Honors Preflight #32

This is another non-Physlet-based preflight with an intentionally planned Physlet in-class followup activity. Students work either as a class or in teams to determine the ratio of the masses in the physlet (click the "In-class Physlet activity" link on the preflight page to get to the in-class activity). Having the preflight question be very open-ended and then following up with an in-class discussion of student responses and the Physlet-based activity seems to be a good combination.

Waves

Standing Waves Lab

Honors Preflight #36 or

Regular Preflight #37

These preflights are intended as a prelab preflight and include a "Superposition" Physlet-based question. The standing waves lab done at USAFA utilizes a horizontal string which is driven at one end by an oscillator and which passes over a pulley and is held taut by means of masses hung at the end of the string. The oscillator frequency is fixed at f = 120 Hz. To set up different standing wave patterns on the string, then, the tension in the string is adjusted by hanging different masses off the end of the string. This preflight asks the students to explore exactly what is happening when the different standing wave patterns are formed under these conditions. (This is, for example, different from shaking a large slinky back and forth across the floor and setting up different standing wave patterns by shaking it at different frequencies.)