Two Dimensional Air Drop Model

Detail Page «

Detail Page

written by Francisco Esquembre
supported by the National Science Foundation

This interactive simulation shows an airplane flying at constant horizontal velocity preparing to drop relief supplies to a small island. Download Simulation Below As captain of the plane, you must determine when to release the package and activate the release button. The trajectory of the falling package is traced onscreen. If you were too far off, the package will drop in the ocean. The motion can be viewed from the perspective of a person standing on the island or an airplane flying nearby. Extend the learning by activating air friction to see how this variable affects the motion of the projectile.

This item was created with Easy Java Simulations (EJS), a modeling tool that allows users without formal programming experience to generate computer models and simulations.

Please note that this resource requires at least version 1.5 of Java (JRE).

Editor's Note: Students may insist that there is a horizontal force acting upon the package since it has a horizontal motion. See Annotation for an editor-recommended tutorial that will explain what is happening (the horizontal motion of the package results from its inertia).

.jar

download 1729kb .jar
Last Modified: June 12, 2014
previous versions

1 source code document is available

Subjects	Levels	Resource Types
Classical Mechanics - Motion in Two Dimensions = Projectile Motion - Newton's First Law = Inertia in Motion - Newton's Second Law = Force, Acceleration Education Practices - Active Learning = Modeling	- High School - Lower Undergraduate	- Instructional Material = Interactive Simulation = Simulation

Appropriate Courses	Categories	Ratings
- Physical Science - Physics First - Conceptual Physics - Algebra-based Physics - AP Physics	- Activity - New teachers	Currently 4.5/5 Rated 4.5 stars by 2 people Want to rate this material? Login here!

Intended Users:: Learner
Educator
Format:: application/java
Access Rights:: Free access
License:: This material is released under a GNU General Public License Version 3 license.
Rights Holder:: Francisco Esquembre
Keywords:: 2d motion, air drop, airplane, EJS, Easy Java Simulation, computer model, gravitation
Record Cloner:: Metadata instance created April 16, 2010 by Wolfgang Christian
Record Updated:: June 12, 2014 by Andreu Glasmann
Last Update when Cataloged:: April 15, 2010
Other Collections:: The Physics Source

The Open Source Physics

Post a new comment on this item

AAAS Benchmark Alignments (2008 Version)

4. The Physical Setting

4B. The Earth

6-8: 4B/M3. Everything on or anywhere near the earth is pulled toward the earth's center by gravitational force.

4F. Motion

9-12: 4F/H2. All motion is relative to whatever frame of reference is chosen, for there is no motionless frame from which to judge all motion.
9-12: 4F/H8. Any object maintains a constant speed and direction of motion unless an unbalanced outside force acts on it.

11. Common Themes

11B. Models

6-8: 11B/M1. Models are often used to think about processes that happen too slowly, too quickly, or on too small a scale to observe directly. They are also used for processes that are too vast, too complex, or too dangerous to study.

AAAS Benchmark Alignments (1993 Version)

11. COMMON THEMES

B. Models

11B (6-8) #3. Different models can be used to represent the same thing. What kind of a model to use and how complex it should be depends on its purpose. The usefulness of a model may be limited if it is too simple or if it is needlessly complicated. Choosing a useful model is one of the instances in which intuition and creativity come into play in science, mathematics, and engineering.

The Physics Classroom Multimedia Studio: The Plane and the Package (Editor: Caroline Hall)

Date: 07/07/2010

This is a link to an editor-recommended tutorial covering the same topic as the Easy Java Simulation Air Drop model. It will help students understand why there is no horizontal force acting on the dropped package. It experiences horizontal motion as a result of its own inertia.

The Physics Classroom: The Plane and the Package (html)

This resource is part of 2 Physics Front Topical Units.

Topic: Kinematics: The Physics of Motion
Unit Title: Motion in More Than One Dimension

This simulation features an airplane flying at constant horizontal velocity, preparing to drop relief supplies to a small island. As captain of the plain, you must calculate the release point for dropping the package and press the red release button at the right moment. The trajectory of the falling package is traced onscreen. If your calculations were off, it will dump in the ocean. Question for students to ponder: what does inertia have to do with it?

Link to Unit:

Topic: Dynamics: Forces and Motion
Unit Title: Newton's First Law & Inertia

This simulation shows an airplane flying at constant horizontal velocity preparing to drop relief supplies to a small island. As captain of the plane, the student must calculate the release point for dropping the package. Students may insist that there is a horizontal force acting upon the package since it has a horizontal motion. Actually, the horizontal motion of the dropped package results from its inertia.

Link to Unit:

ComPADRE is beta testing Citation Styles!

Record Link

<a href="https://www.compadre.org/precollege/items/detail.cfm?ID=9972">Esquembre, Francisco. "Two Dimensional Air Drop Model." Version 1.0.</a>

AIP Format

F. Esquembre, Computer Program TWO DIMENSIONAL AIR DROP MODEL, Version 1.0 (2010), WWW Document, (https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=9972&DocID=1592).

AJP/PRST-PER

F. Esquembre, Computer Program TWO DIMENSIONAL AIR DROP MODEL, Version 1.0 (2010), <https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=9972&DocID=1592>.

APA Format

Esquembre, F. (2010). Two Dimensional Air Drop Model (Version 1.0) [Computer software]. Retrieved October 3, 2024, from https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=9972&DocID=1592

Chicago Format

Esquembre, Francisco. "Two Dimensional Air Drop Model." Version 1.0. https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=9972&DocID=1592 (accessed 3 October 2024).

MLA Format

Esquembre, Francisco. Two Dimensional Air Drop Model. Vers. 1.0. Computer software. 2010. Java (JRE) 1.5. 3 Oct. 2024 <https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=9972&DocID=1592>.

BibTeX Export Format

@misc{ Author = "Francisco Esquembre", Title = {Two Dimensional Air Drop Model}, Month = {April}, Year = {2010} }

Refer Export Format

%A Francisco Esquembre %T Two Dimensional Air Drop Model %D April 15, 2010 %U https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=9972&DocID=1592 %O 1.0 %O application/java

EndNote Export Format

%0 Computer Program %A Esquembre, Francisco %D April 15, 2010 %T Two Dimensional Air Drop Model %7 1.0 %8 April 15, 2010 %U https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=9972&DocID=1592

Disclaimer: ComPADRE offers citation styles as a guide only. We cannot offer interpretations about citations as this is an automated procedure. Please refer to the style manuals in the Citation Source Information area for clarifications.

Citation Source Information

The AIP Style presented is based on information from the AIP Style Manual.

The APA Style presented is based on information from APA Style.org: Electronic References.

The Chicago Style presented is based on information from Examples of Chicago-Style Documentation.

The MLA Style presented is based on information from the MLA FAQ.

This resource is stored in 29 shared folders.

You must login to access shared folders.