Components of a Vector
A vector and its components are displayed. You can drag either the vector or one of its components and observe the changes the others.

Addition of Vectors
Two vectors A & B are added together to produce a third vector C = A + B . The magnitude and direction of both A & B can be changed. One also switch to the head to tail method for vector addition. (Only works well with IP 2.5)

Components Involved in the Addition of Two Vectors
Similar to the simulation above except one can also display the components of each of the vectors during the addition process. (Only works with IP 2.5)

Components of the Velocity Vector of a Projectile
A ball is tossed into the air on a parabolic arc. The components of the ball's velocity can be turned on or off. The magnitude and direction of the projectile's velocity can be changed by dragging velocity vector. Air resistance can also be turn on. Projectile Motion QT3 Movie (450K)

Air Resistance on a Projectile
The effects of both air resistance and gravity on a ball projected in to the air can be investegated. A drag constant can be varied to change the amount of air resistance. When the air resistance is large enough the ball will approach a terminal velocity quickly.

Student Target Experiment
A slow moving projectile is launched directly at a student hanging motionless by invisible skyhook. Having not done his homework on freefall, he reasons that he should let go at the moment the projectile is launched so that he can drop out of its way. The simulation demonstrates that the projectile will always intersect the student's path under these conditions. The magnitude and direction of the initial velocity of the projectile can be varied. as well as the student's initial distance and height from the launch point. Student Target QT Movie (248K)

Relative Motion of a River Boat
The heading and speed of a river boat (relative to the river flow) can be changed. This is a vector addition problem of the velocity heading of the boat and the velocity of the river. The resulting vector is the actual motion of the boat relative to the stationary bank.

Maximum Range for Elevated Launch
A ball is launched from the top of a building. The angle of launch can be varied to determine which angle will produce the maximum range.

Diving Submarine
A submarine dives in a current that is flowing horizontally. The actual angle at which the submarine dives relative to the surface of the water is displayed as addition of vectors. The heading and speed of the submarine can be varied as well as the speed of the current. Diving Sub Problem

Downward Book Heave
A student stands on the top of a building and throws his physics book downwards at an unknown angle. The book is observed to hit the ground 15.0 m from the base of the building, take .420 seconds to hit the ground, and just barely miss his physics teacher. Physics Book Toss Problem