Explore what happens when a force is exerted on a rubber tire. There are many different types of materials. Each material has a particular molecular structure, which is responsible for the material’s mechanical properties. The molecular structure of each material affects how it responds to an applied force at the macroscopic level.
Use a dart board simulation to understand probability distributions.
Explore how the charging and discharging of a Van de Graaff generator occurs and changes in potential energy.
Explore how natural convection might look in a whole house, with or without a ceiling. Consider the following questions based on your experience of rooms you have been in. Does a low ceiling make a room feel warmer in a poorly insulated house? Would it be hard to heat the area we use (such as […]
Model how electric fields change due to the number and placement of charged objects.
How does water move through Earth’s layers? Use the model templates to explore the differing permeabilities of different sediment types, drill wells into model landscapes, explore the difference between confined and unconfined aquifers, discover how water moves around gaining and losing streams, and explore the difference between rural and urban area aquifers. Create your own […]
If the walls of two houses have different insulation values, you would expect the same heater to have a different effect. Suppose you placed thermometers near the wall of each house, one on the inside and one on the outside. What would you expect the thermometers to show as you heated the houses? Run this […]
Explore pressure at the atomic level. All matter is made up of atoms, which make up molecules. These atoms and molecules are always in motion. When atoms and molecules are contained, we can measure the amount of pressure they exert on the container. This applies to all sorts of pressure: air pressure, blood pressure and […]
The purpose of insulation is to maintain a temperature difference between inside and outside with the least possible heat flow and thus a smaller heating requirement. If it’s cold outside and the insulation value of a wall or window is low, the temperature near that surface will be lower, too. Move thermometers around the model […]
Add various unknown molecules to oil and water, and observe how the molecules sort themselves in response to interactions with the surrounding environment.