http://www.merlot.org:80/merlot/ A search of MERLOT materials Copyright 1997-2013 MERLOT. All rights reserved. Fri, 24 May 2013 22:55:46 PDT Fri, 24 May 2013 22:55:46 PDT http://www.merlot.org:80/merlot/images/merlot.gif http://www.merlot.org:80/merlot/ 44 34 http://www.merlot.org/merlot/viewMaterial.htm?id=80654 A collection of simulations and virtual labs focusing on first-year college physics. An interview with the award winning author can be found in About us at Phet VideoPhET provides fun, interactive, research-based simulations of physical phenomena for free. We believe that our research-based approach- incorporating findings from prior research and our own testing- enables students to make connections between real-life phenomena and the underlying science, deepening their understanding and appreciation of the physical world. To help students visually comprehend concepts, PhET simulations animate what is invisible to the eye through the use of graphics and intuitive controls such as click-and-drag manipulation, sliders and radio buttons. In order to further encourage quantitative exploration, the simulations also offer measurement instruments including rulers, stop-watches, voltmeters and thermometers. As the user manipulates these interactive tools, responses are immediately animated thus effectively illustrating cause-and-effect relationships as well as multiple linked representations (motion of the objects, graphs, number readouts, etc.) PhET Interactive Simulations, University of Colorado, http://phet.colorado.edu http://www.merlot.org/merlot/viewMaterial.htm?id=82187 A collection of Java applets with accompanying text designed to help students understand concepts in introductory mechanics. Topics include Vectors, 1D Kinematics, 2D Kinematics, Dynamics (Forces), and Work and Energy (under construction). The items are interactive, and provide immediate feedback and a running score, making them suitable for student self-study. A means of recording scores for a homework grade is available from the author. http://www.merlot.org/merlot/viewMaterial.htm?id=75572 This applet demonstrates various properties of vector fields. You can select from a number of vector fields and see how particles move in the field if it is treated as either a velocity or a force field. This helps you visualize the field. Also you can see the values of the divergence and curl of the field. [From Author's Description] http://www.merlot.org/merlot/viewMaterial.htm?id=90591 Text, images, and applet for learning about forces. A link is provided for learning how to add and subtract vectors. http://www.merlot.org/merlot/viewMaterial.htm?id=90197 This Macromedia ShockWave is an adding machine for vectors. The vectors to be added can be adjusted by clicking and dragging. The applet displays the polar and rectangular coordinates for the two vectors to be added and for their resultant. The head to tail vector addition principle can be verified graphically. http://www.merlot.org/merlot/viewMaterial.htm?id=89855 Forces add like vectors. Three forces act on the orange disk. Drag the heads of the arrows representing these forces to observe the effecton the net force, which is their sum. http://www.merlot.org/merlot/viewMaterial.htm?id=89848 User can demonstrate the head-to-tail method of vector addition. http://www.merlot.org/merlot/viewMaterial.htm?id=77779 A Java applet that lets students create vectors on a cartesian coordinate system, and then add them graphically. Users can move around the coordinate plane and zoom in and out. http://www.merlot.org/merlot/viewMaterial.htm?id=74749 With the "״Graphing Vector Caculator״" you draw two vectors then command it to add or subtract the vectors by pressing a button ( "A + B״, "A - B״, "B + A״, "B - A" ). The graphical and numerical representations for all the vectors are shown, in matching colors, and all the digits are in neatly aligned columns. http://www.merlot.org/merlot/viewMaterial.htm?id=84293 An electronic laboratory manual for introductory physics consisting of videos (on principles and laboratory procedure) in streaming Windows media format, a pdf file of the PowerPoint slides upon which the lectures are based, and an Excel spreadsheet for laboratory data. Question pools aligned with learning objectives are available from the author for instructors using Blackboard.