Skip to content

ExaminerPrepexaminerprep.com · IB Physics simulations: 35 Free Interactive Models

Free · 35 interactive models

IB Physics simulations

Interactive models for every theme of the IB Physics course, SL and HL: move the sliders, watch the physics, then test the idea on exam-style questions.

Also: IGCSE Physics simulations · IB Maths simulations · the original 71 IB Physics & Maths simulations

Choose a simulation

Theme A · Space, time and motion

Relative velocity: crossing a river

Steer a boat across a 60.0 m wide river with a current. Watch how the boat's velocity relative to the water adds to the current's velocity, and see hoOpen →A.1

Projectiles with and without air resistance

Launch two identical projectiles at once: one in a vacuum and one feeling a drag force proportional to v². Compare their paths, range, maximum height,Open →A.2

Connected masses over a pulley

Change the block mass, the hanging mass and the friction coefficient to see the free-body forces, the acceleration and the string tension, and find whOpen →A.2

Springs in series and parallel

Hang a load from two springs joined end to end or side by side, and compare how each spring stretches, the total extension and the effective spring coOpen →A.2

Vertical circle: loop-the-loop

Release a cart from height h onto a frictionless track with a vertical loop of radius r. Watch the speed, normal force and centripetal acceleration chOpen →A.3

Energy on a track with friction

Release a ball from any height on a hilly track and watch gravitational potential energy turn into kinetic energy and, through friction, into thermal Open →A.3

Spring launcher and elastic energy

Compress a spring, release a block up a rough slope and watch elastic energy transfer into kinetic, gravitational and thermal stores.Open →A.4

Torque and rotational equilibrium

Drag up to three weights along a uniform 4.00 m beam, move the pivot, and see each torque, the net torque and how the beam starts to rotate when the tOpen →A.4

Rolling race: moment of inertia

Race a hoop, a disc, a solid sphere and a hollow sphere down the same incline. See how the shape factor k in I = kMR² sets the acceleration, the finisOpen →A.5

Light clock and time dilation

Watch a light clock on a train from the train and from the platform, change the train's speed, and see how the Lorentz factor stretches each tick. TheOpen →A.5

Muons and length contraction

Release 300 muons at height H and watch how many reach the ground without relativity, with time dilation in the Earth frame, and with length contractiOpen →

Theme B · The particulate nature of matter

Method of mixtures

Drop a hot metal block into water in an insulated cup and watch both temperatures converge. Change the metal, masses and starting temperatures to see Open →B.1

Stefan–Boltzmann law and star sizes

Choose a star's surface temperature and radius to see its luminosity, its black-body spectrum and peak wavelength, its colour, and how it compares witOpen →B.2

Planet energy balance

Change the solar intensity, albedo and emissivity to see how incoming, reflected and emitted power per square metre balance, and watch the surface temOpen →B.3

Brownian motion

A large particle (red) is buffeted by hundreds of small, fast gas molecules. Change the temperature and molecular mass, follow its random path and watOpen →B.4

Heat engine cycle on a p–V diagram

Watch a fixed amount of ideal gas run round an Otto-like or a rectangular cycle. Change the compression ratio and temperatures to see how the enclosedOpen →B.4

Entropy and microstates

Start with every particle in the left half, remove the partition and watch the gas spread. The chart shows how many microstates W belong to each left/Open →B.5

EMF and internal resistance

Change the emf, the internal resistance and the load to see how current, terminal pd, lost volts and load power respond. Drag along the graph to move Open →

Theme C · Wave behaviour

Damped oscillations

Change the damping coefficient of a mass–spring oscillator and watch it move from light to critical to heavy damping, with displacement, the exponentiOpen →C.1

SHM: displacement velocity and acceleration

Watch a mass on a spring move in step with a rotating reference circle, and compare the x, v and a graphs to see the phase differences of π/2 and π. COpen →C.2

Wave speed on a string

Flick pulses along a 3.00 m string, change its tension and mass per unit length, and watch how the speed and the reflection at a fixed or free end chaOpen →C.3

Total internal reflection and optical fibres

Send a ray from glass into air and watch how the light divides between reflected and refracted rays as the angle grows past the critical angle. SwitchOpen →C.4

Standing waves in pipes

Compare a pipe closed at one end with a pipe open at both ends. See the first four possible harmonics as displacement patterns, with nodes (N) and antOpen →

Theme D · Fields

Orbital energy of a satellite

Change the radius of a circular orbit around Earth and watch the speed, period and the kinetic, potential and total energies change, then find the eneOpen →D.2

Field lines and equipotentials of two charges

Set the sign and size of two point charges, drag them around, and see how the field lines and equipotentials change. Move the probe to read the field Open →D.2

Magnetic field of a wire and a solenoid

Switch between a long straight wire (seen end-on) and a solenoid (cut along its axis), change the current and the turns per metre, and drag the probe Open →D.3

Force between parallel wires

Look end-on at two long parallel wires. Change the size and direction of each current and the separation (drag a wire or use the slider). Then see theOpen →D.3

Mass spectrometer

Accelerate ions through a potential difference, send them into a uniform magnetic field and watch isotopes of different mass land at different points Open →D.4

Transformer

Change the turns on each coil and the input voltage to see how an ideal transformer sets the output voltage and currents while the flux in the iron coOpen →

Theme E · Nuclear and quantum physics

Electron diffraction and de Broglie wavelength

Accelerate electrons through a potential difference, fire them at a crystal and watch how their momentum and de Broglie wavelength set the size of theOpen →E.2

Compton scattering

Fire a high-energy photon at a free electron at rest and choose the scattering angle. See how the wavelength shift, the recoil direction of the electrOpen →E.3

Half-life with dice

Throw a set of dice repeatedly; any die landing on a decay face is removed. Compare the random results with the exponential model and read off the halOpen →E.4

Nuclear reactor control

Nuclear reactor controlOpen →E.5

Stellar parallax

Watch Earth orbit the Sun while a nearby star appears to shift against distant background stars. Change the star's distance and the measuring precisioOpen →E.5

Luminosity and apparent brightness

Set the luminosity and distance of two stars, watch their light spread over ever larger spheres, and compare how bright each appears to an observer.Open →

© ExaminerPrep · examinerprep.com · Original material by Evan Kotronis. ExaminerPrep is an independent tutoring service. It has been developed independently from and is not endorsed by the International Baccalaureate Organization. "International Baccalaureate", "IB" and "IB Diploma Programme" are registered trademarks of the IBO, used here for descriptive purposes only. Pearson Edexcel and Cambridge are trademarks of their owners; ExaminerPrep is not affiliated with any exam board.