Help - Energy Race
The applet simulates a race between two objects rolling or sliding down two inclines with or without friction

Energy Race Help

Click on a number to view its explanation.

  1. Basic Control Buttons

    2. There are three basic control buttons. One of these, the Play/Pause button, is a dual button. The buttons are, from left to right:

    Rewind Returns the simulation to the starting point with the previously chosen settings. After clicking Rewind, click Play to restart the motion.

    Play Clicking the Play button starts the race.

    Pause After the Play button has been clicked, it changes into a Pause button. Click the Pause button if you want to get a 'snapshot' of the motion at a given instant. When the Pause button has been clicked, it reverts into the Play button. To resume the motion, click Play once more.

    Reset Resets the applet to its default setting.

    Adjustments in the initial settings can only be made after first clicking REWIND or RESET.

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  2. Selecting an Object

    3. Object Choice

    The applet allows you to compare the speeds with which two objects moving on equally sloped inclines move down the inclines. To select the two objects, click on the appropriate button for the left and right incline. To change your selection, click on another button.

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  3. Friction Controls

    4. Friction Choice

    For each incline, a checkbox can be checked if you want to have friction between the incline and the object moving down the incline. The applet indicates besides each incline whether the incline has friction or not.

    In the situation shown here, the right incline has friction, the left one does not.

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  4. Racing Objects

    5. Racing Objects

    Each round object has a yellow dot painted on it that lets you observe whether the object is rolling or sliding down the incline.

    A small flag flagis raised at the finish line for the object that makes it to the finish line first, and the color of the finish line changes from blue to green when the object passes the line.

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  5. Energy Display

    6. Energy Blocks

    At each instant during the motion, the way the total energy of each object is divided up into potential energy PE (blue), translational kinetic energy TK (red) and, if applicable, rotational kinetic energy RK (magenta) is indicated by a set of 1-J blocks for each object.

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  6. Energy Values

    7. Energy Values

    The amounts of potential, translational kinetic, and rotational kinetic energy of each block are displayed and updated throughout the motion.

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