Dynamics Lab: The Equivalence Principle

This unit introduces Dynamics, the study of how forces cause motion. Students apply Newton's Laws to analyze systems, including friction, tension, and circular motion. Dynamics Lab: The Equivalence Principle turns that idea into something you can manipulate directly and watch respond.

This unit introduces Dynamics, the study of how forces cause motion. Students apply Newton's Laws to analyze systems, including friction, tension, and circular motion. It focuses on Newton's Three Laws of Motion, Free-Body Diagrams (FBDs), Inertial vs. Gravitational Mass, Static and Kinetic Friction, Uniform Circular Motion, Newton's Law of Universal Gravitation from the “Unit 2: Force and Translational Dynamics” section.

The “Mass: 5.0 kg”, “Experiment State”, “Environment” sliders change the key inputs; the “Run Experiment”, “Reset”, “Vacuum Mode” buttons run actions or reset the demo. Every change updates the visualization in real time, so you can see exactly how each variable affects the outcome.

AP Physics 1 is an algebra-based, introductory college-level physics course that explores the fundamental principles of motion, force, and energy. Students develop a deep understanding of physics through inquiry-based i… This demo is the interactive piece for the “Unit 2: Force and Translational Dynamics” section. Open the full AP Physics 1 course wiki at https://www.getlykke.com/explore/public/ap-physics-1-e5a379b9-a3e5-451c-b409-f72cb259d0e4 for notes, flashcards, quizzes and the other demos.

You'll build intuition for Newton's Three Laws of Motion, Free-Body Diagrams (FBDs), Inertial vs. Gravitational Mass, Static and Kinetic Friction, Uniform Circular Motion, Newton's Law of Universal Gravitation — and, crucially, see how they behave when you change the inputs, which is hard to get from a textbook or lecture on AP Physics 1 alone.