About

Free Fall 3D

The Free Fall 3D model simulates the same physics as the 2D Free Fall model but with a 3D View of the model's data.  The ball falls with constant acceleration g=-9.8 m/s² in the z direction.  Click-dragging on the ball changes its height but leaves its velocity unchanged.  The reset button stops the animation and sets the initial conditions to y=1.8 and v_y=0.

 

The Free Fall 3D model is  a designed to teach EJS modeling.  Right click within the simulation to examine this model in the EJS modeling and authoring tool. 

References:

 

• "Modeling Physics with Easy Java Simulations" by Wolfgang Christian and Francisco Esquembre, The Physics Teacher, November 2007, 45 (8), pp. 475-480.
• The Easy Java Simulations (EJS) documentation can be downloaded from the ComPADRE Open Source Physics collection. W. Christian and F. Esquembre, in Modeling Science: From Free Fall to Chaos (2008), WWW Document, (http://www.compadre.org/osp/items/detail.cfm?ID=7306).
• A video tutorial that will help you get started using Easy Java Simulations to create computer simulations.  See: L. Engelhardt, Introduction to EJS Video Tutorial (2010), WWW Document, (http://www.compadre.org/OSP/items/detail.cfm?ID=10316).

Credits:

The Free Fall 3D model was created by Wolfgang Christian using version 4.3 of the Easy Java Simulations (EJS) authoring and modeling tool.  You can examine and modify a compiled EJS model if you run the program by double clicking on the model's jar file.  Right-click within the running program and select "Open EJS Model" from the pop-up menu to copy the model's XML description into EJS.  You must, of course, have EJS installed on your computer.

 

Information about EJS is available at: <http://www.um.es/fem/Ejs/> and in the OSP ComPADRE collection <http://www.compadre.org/OSP/>.

3D Navigation

The model's 3D view has many built in features that can be accessed as the program is running.

• Left-button click-dragging on the particle changes its position.
• Left-button click-dragging on an empty regions rotates the view.
• Left-button shift-click-dragging zooms in and out.
• Left-button control-click-dragging translates (pans) the view.
• Left-button alt-click-dragging displays a 3D cursor on the scene (if the panel is “Enabled”).

It the ‘x’, ‘y’ or ‘z’ key is pressed during a mouse action, the actions affects only this coordinate.  Note also that these actions are are modified if the 3D view is projected onto a 2D plane.

Right-clicking within a 3D view displays a popup menu as shown below.

 

Translations

Code	Language		Translator	Run

Credits

Wolfgang Christian; Loo Kang Wee; Francisco Esquembre

Briefing Document: Freefall 3D JavaScript Simulation Applet HTML5

This briefing document summarizes the key aspects of the "Freefall 3D JavaScript Simulation Applet HTML5" resource from Open Educational Resources / Open Source Physics @ Singapore.

Main Theme:

The resource provides a 3D interactive simulation of freefall motion for educational purposes. It is designed to help students visualize and understand the physics principles governing objects falling under the influence of gravity. Furthermore, the simulation is built using Easy Java Simulations (EJS), making it modifiable and customizable for educators and students alike.

Key Ideas and Facts:

• 3D Visualization: The simulation offers a 3D view of the freefall scenario, enhancing the understanding and engagement compared to traditional 2D representations.
• Constant Acceleration: The simulation models freefall with constant acceleration due to gravity, g = -9.8 m/s². This allows students to observe the effect of gravity on the object's motion.
• Interactive Manipulation: Users can interact with the simulation by:
• "Click-dragging on the ball changes its height but leaves its velocity unchanged."
• Rotating the view by "Left-button click-dragging on an empty regions rotates the view."
• Zooming in and out using "Left-button shift-click-dragging zooms in and out."
• Translating/panning the view using "Left-button control-click-dragging translates (pans) the view."
• EJS Modeling: The simulation is built using the Easy Java Simulations (EJS) authoring tool, allowing for modification and customization. As stated in the description, "The Free Fall 3D model is a designed to teach EJS modeling. Right click within the simulation to examine this model in the EJS modeling and authoring tool."
• Reset Functionality: The "reset button stops the animation and sets the initial conditions to y=1.8 and vy=0." This allows users to quickly return to a known state and experiment with different initial conditions (although the description only mentions initial height).
• EJS Resources: The document references resources for learning EJS, including:
• "Modeling Physics with Easy Java Simulations" by Wolfgang Christian and Francisco Esquembre.
• The Easy Java Simulations (EJS) documentation from the ComPADRE Open Source Physics collection.
• "Introduction to EJS Video Tutorial" by L. Engelhardt.
• Modification and Examination: Users can examine and modify the compiled EJS model by running the program (double-clicking the JAR file) and selecting "Open EJS Model" from the pop-up menu.
• Accessibility: The model is accessible via an iframe embed, meaning that it can be placed on a web page to be used.
• Licensing: The contents are licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 Singapore License, with a separate license for commercial use of the EasyJavaScriptSimulations Library.

Quotes:

• "The Free Fall 3D model simulates the same physics as the 2D Free Fall model but with a 3D View of the model's data."
• "The ball falls with constant acceleration g=-9.8 m/s2 in the z direction."
• "The Free Fall 3D model is a designed to teach EJS modeling. Right click within the simulation to examine this model in the EJS modeling and authoring tool."
• "Left-button click-dragging on the particle changes its position."
• "reset button stops the animation and sets the initial conditions to y=1.8 and vy=0."

Potential Use Cases:

• Physics Education: Demonstrating and exploring the principles of freefall motion.
• EJS Modeling Education: As a learning tool for understanding how to create interactive physics simulations using EJS.
• Interactive Learning: Providing students with a hands-on, visual learning experience.
• Customization: Adapting the simulation for specific learning objectives or scenarios.

Free Fall 3D Simulation Study Guide

Key Concepts

• Free Fall: The motion of an object under the influence of gravity alone, neglecting air resistance and other forces.
• Constant Acceleration: A uniform rate of change in velocity. In free fall, the acceleration is constant and due to gravity (approximately 9.8 m/s² near Earth's surface).
• 3D Visualization: Representing data and physical phenomena in three dimensions, allowing for a more intuitive understanding of spatial relationships.
• Simulation: A computer model that mimics the behavior of a real-world system or process, allowing for experimentation and analysis.
• Initial Conditions: The state of a system at the beginning of a simulation or experiment, including position and velocity.
• EJS (Easy Java Simulations): A free, open-source tool for creating interactive computer simulations, particularly for science education.
• HTML5: A markup language used for structuring and presenting content on the World Wide Web. It is the fifth and latest major version of the HTML standard.

Quiz

Answer each question in 2-3 sentences.

1. What force is primarily responsible for the motion of the ball in the Free Fall 3D simulation?
2. What is the approximate value of the constant acceleration due to gravity used in the simulation? What is the direction of the acceleration?
3. How can you change the initial height of the ball in the Free Fall 3D simulation?
4. What happens to the ball's velocity during the Free Fall 3D simulation?
5. What is EJS, and what is its purpose in the context of this simulation?
6. What user actions are used to rotate the view in the 3D environment?
7. How can you reset the simulation to its initial conditions?
8. What is the purpose of the references provided in the documentation?
9. If you wanted to modify the Free Fall 3D model, what steps would you take according to the documentation?
10. What programming language is used to create the Free Fall 3D model?

Quiz Answer Key

1. The force primarily responsible for the ball's motion is gravity. The simulation models the object's motion as being solely affected by gravity, neglecting other forces.
2. The constant acceleration due to gravity used in the simulation is approximately -9.8 m/s². This negative value indicates that the acceleration is in the downward direction, along the z-axis in this 3D model.
3. You can change the initial height of the ball in the Free Fall 3D simulation by click-dragging the ball itself with the left mouse button. This action modifies the ball's z-coordinate.
4. During the Free Fall 3D simulation, the ball's velocity changes at a constant rate due to the constant acceleration of gravity. The velocity increases in the downward direction as the ball falls.
5. EJS (Easy Java Simulations) is a free, open-source tool used to create interactive computer simulations, especially for physics and science education. It allows users to model and simulate physical phenomena in a visual and interactive way.
6. You can rotate the view in the 3D environment by left-button click-dragging on an empty region of the simulation. This action changes the orientation of the camera perspective relative to the scene.
7. You can reset the simulation to its initial conditions by clicking the "reset" button. This stops the animation and sets the initial height to y=1.8 and initial velocity to vy=0.
8. The references provide additional information about EJS, the modeling tool used to create the simulation, and modeling physics. They offer resources for learning more about EJS and its applications in physics education.
9. To modify the Free Fall 3D model, you would first need to have EJS installed on your computer. Then, right-click within the running program and select "Open EJS Model" to copy the model's XML description into EJS, allowing you to edit and recompile it.
10. The Free Fall 3D model is created using JavaScript in the HTML5 environment, utilizing the EJS (Easy Java Simulations) authoring tool. EJS allows the user to create a simulation from an easier user interface before compiling it to JavaScript.

Essay Questions

1. Discuss the pedagogical benefits of using interactive simulations like the Free Fall 3D model in physics education. How does a 3D representation enhance student understanding compared to traditional 2D methods?
2. Explain how the Free Fall 3D simulation demonstrates the principles of constant acceleration and the role of gravity. Describe how the simulation could be modified to incorporate air resistance and analyze the resulting changes in motion.
3. Analyze the role of initial conditions in the Free Fall 3D simulation. How do changes in the initial height and velocity of the ball affect its subsequent motion? Design an experiment using the simulation to investigate the relationship between initial conditions and the time it takes for the ball to reach the ground.
4. Evaluate the Easy Java Simulations (EJS) tool as a platform for creating educational simulations. What are the advantages and disadvantages of using EJS compared to other simulation development tools? How does the open-source nature of EJS contribute to its potential impact on education?
5. Critically assess the design and functionality of the Free Fall 3D simulation. What are its strengths and weaknesses in terms of user interface, visual representation, and educational value? Suggest specific improvements that could be made to enhance the simulation's effectiveness as a learning tool.

Glossary

• Acceleration (a): The rate of change of velocity with respect to time, measured in meters per second squared (m/s²).
• Gravity (g): The force of attraction between objects with mass. Near the Earth's surface, the acceleration due to gravity is approximately 9.8 m/s².
• Velocity (v): The rate of change of displacement with respect to time, measured in meters per second (m/s). It has both magnitude (speed) and direction.
• Initial Velocity (v₀): The velocity of an object at the beginning of a motion or simulation.
• Displacement (Δz): The change in position of an object, measured in meters (m).
• Time (t): The duration of an event or process, measured in seconds (s).
• Kinematics: The branch of mechanics concerned with the motion of objects without reference to the forces that cause the motion.
• Open Source: Software for which the original source code is made freely available and may be redistributed and modified.
• Applet: A small application, typically one designed to run within another application, such as a web browser.

Sample Learning Goals

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FAQ on the Free Fall 3D Simulation

• What does the Free Fall 3D model simulate?
• The Free Fall 3D model simulates the motion of an object falling under the influence of constant gravitational acceleration in three dimensions. It provides a 3D visualization of the data associated with the free fall, similar to a 2D model but with an added spatial perspective. The ball falls with constant acceleration g=-9.8 m/s2 in the z direction.
• How can I interact with the Free Fall 3D simulation?
• You can interact with the simulation in several ways. Click-dragging on the ball changes its height but leaves its velocity unchanged. Additionally, you can use your mouse to manipulate the 3D view: left-click and drag on an empty region to rotate, shift-click and drag to zoom, control-click and drag to translate (pan), and alt-click and drag to display a 3D cursor. Pressing ‘x’, ‘y’, or ‘z’ during a mouse action restricts the action to that coordinate axis. The reset button stops the animation and sets the initial conditions to y=1.8 and vy=0.
• What is Easy Java Simulations (EJS) and how is it related to the Free Fall 3D model?
• Easy Java Simulations (EJS) is a modeling and authoring tool used to create the Free Fall 3D model. EJS allows users to build interactive simulations for science education. The Free Fall 3D model is specifically designed to showcase EJS modeling capabilities, acting as a teaching tool for learning how to create simulations with EJS.
• How can I examine and modify the Free Fall 3D model?
• If you have EJS installed on your computer, you can examine and modify the compiled EJS model by running the program. Double-click the model's JAR file, then right-click within the running program and select "Open EJS Model" to copy the model's XML description into EJS. This allows you to explore and alter the model's underlying code and parameters.
• Where can I find more information about Easy Java Simulations (EJS)?
• More information about EJS is available at http://www.um.es/fem/Ejs/ and in the Open Source Physics (OSP) ComPADRE collection at http://www.compadre.org/OSP/. You can also find documentation and video tutorials in the OSP ComPADRE collection.
• Who created the Free Fall 3D model?
• The Free Fall 3D model was created by Wolfgang Christian using version 4.3 of the Easy Java Simulations (EJS) authoring and modeling tool. Contributions were also made by Loo Kang Wee and Francisco Esquembre.
• What are some of the potential uses of the Free Fall 3D model in education?
• The model can be used to help students visualize and understand the physics of free fall in three dimensions. Teachers can use it to demonstrate the effects of constant acceleration due to gravity and to allow students to explore the relationships between position, velocity, and time. Furthermore, it serves as an example of how EJS can be used to create custom physics simulations.
• What license is the Free Fall 3D model available under?
• The Free Fall 3D model is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 Singapore License. For commercial use of the EasyJavaScriptSimulations Library, refer to the specific license at https://www.um.es/fem/EjsWiki/Main/EJSLicense and contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. directly.