This is the original Java version of the PhET Energy Skate Park simulation, in which students explore conservation of energy by building ramps, jumps, and tracks for a skateboarder. For the beginning learner, the relationship of kinetic and potential energy is well illustrated by clicking "Bar Graph". Friction can be set from low to high -- then observe the effects on the skater's speed and watch what happens to the thermal energy bar graph. For more advanced learners, turn on the Energy vs. Position and Energy vs. Time graphs, displayed in real time for each skate run. The simulation provides a default skater or pre-set track configuration, but learners can also adjust the mass of the skater and drag track to customize the skate run. Finally, the skater can be transported to different planets to illustrate the effects of changing the gravitational constant.

See Related Resources for a simpler version of this simulation: "Energy Skate Park Basics", which is available in HTML5. The basic version does not introduce energy graphs or changes in gravitational constant, and is appropriate for upper elementary and middle school learners.

Please note that this resource requires at least version 1.5.0 of Java Applet Plug-in.