Physics simulations

Forces and motion

• Bouncing Balls: Drop a rubber ball from 30 cm. How high does it come back?
• Bungee Toy: Hang a toy on a big spring and let go. Does a heavier toy bounce faster or slower?
• Crashing Carts: Two carts crash on a track. Where does the push go?
• Double Pendulum Twins: Release two double pendulums almost exactly the same. How long do they stay twins?
• Friction Drag Test: Pull a block with a newton meter. How hard do you have to pull on ice, wood or sandpaper?
• Projectile Launcher: Aim the launcher and fire a marble. Which angle sends it furthest?
• Pulleys and a Newton Meter: Lift a brass weight with one wheel, then with more. How hard do you have to pull?
• Rolling Race: Race a ball, a cylinder, a hoop and a hollow ball down a ramp. Which one wins?
• Roundabout Ride: Spin the roundabout. How hard must the spring pull to keep the toy going round?
• Ruler See-saw: Hang brass weights on a ruler. Can a light weight far out balance a heavy one close in?
• Simple Pendulum: Time one swing. What changes it: the string, the bob, or the push?
• Slide and Light Gates: Let a toy sled slide down a slide. How fast does it pick up speed?

Waves and sound

• Beat Frequency: Two nearly equal notes together go loud, soft, loud, soft. How fast is the wobble?
• Diffraction Patterns: Ripples squeeze through a gap. Do they fan out or go straight?
• Doppler Effect: A moving dipper squashes its ripples in front and stretches them behind.
• Resonance: Shake three toys on springs gently. Why does only one go wild?
• Sonar & Echolocation: Ping the water and listen. How long until the rock answers?
• Sound Waves: A speaker squeezes the air. Watch the squeezes march across the stage.
• Standing Waves: Buzz a cord at just the right rate and it splits into still points and big loops.
• Wave Interference: Two dippers, one duck. Where do the waves add up, and where do they cancel?
• Wave Motion: Shake one end of a cord. How fast does the wave run, and how long is each wave?
• Wave Reflection: Ripples hit a tilted wall. Which way do they bounce?

Light

• Bending Light: Shine a ray into a glass block. How much does it bend?
• Candle, Lens and Screen: Slide the screen until the candle is sharp. Why is its picture upside down?
• Glowing Glass Rod: Shine a laser into a bent glass rod. Does the light follow the bend?
• Prism Rainbow: Split white light into a rainbow with a glass prism.
• Rainbow and Beyond: Slide from ultraviolet through the rainbow to infrared. Which light makes the star glow?
• Sunglasses Test: Two polarising filters, one lamp. Turn one filter: where does the light go?

Electricity and magnetism

• Bike Dynamo: Pedal a bike on a stand. How does turning a magnet light the lamp?
• Charge the Flash: Fill a capacitor from a battery. Why does the light start bright and then fade?
• Electric Fields: Charge a metal ball and hang a tiny pith ball beside it. How far does the invisible push move it?
• Magnet Drop: Drop a magnet through a coil of wire. Can a falling magnet make electricity?
• Magnet and Compasses: Slide a magnet and compasses round a desk. Which way do the needles point, and why does a far one wobble slowly?
• Power to the Town: Change the turns on a transformer. Can you make the street lamps brighter, or blow them?
• Scrapyard Crane: Switch on the crane magnet. How many cans can it grab, and how do you make it stronger?
• Simple Circuits: Close the switch. What makes the bulbs brighter: more volts, fewer bulbs, or a different wiring?
• Storm over the Town: Where will the lightning strike? Watch it feel its way down, then add a lightning rod.
• Radio Mast to House: Send radio waves across town. How fast do they arrive, and why is the far house quieter?

Engineering

• Aerodynamics: Blow air over a wing. How fast before it lifts its own weight?
• Bridge Stress: How can a bridge of thin sticks hold a heavy load? Which sticks are pulled, and which are squashed?
• Gear Mechanisms: Big gear, small gear: which one turns faster, and why?
• Heat Transfer: Bridge hot water and cold with a metal bar. Which metal carries heat best?
• Hydraulics: Push a little piston gently. Can the oil lift a heavy crate?

More labs

Browse by subject: physics, chemistry, biology, Earth and space, maths. Or by NCERT class: Class 6, Class 7, Class 8, Class 9, Class 10. Every lab opens inside Taz after you sign in.