Four Second Inclined Plane Joyride

Joyride constraints and controls:

This is a frictionless inclined plane.

The angle of the incline is T. This is the angle theta in our inclined plane discussions. The angle here is shown in degrees.

Every run of the sliding box takes the same amount of time, about four seconds (dependent upon your device and browser).

Use the number adjuster for T to change the angle of the incline. Click or tap the 'greater' and 'lesser' buttons to change the value of this angle. Note that the component vectors change size and direction when the angle of the incline changes.

Required understanding:

• Inclined Plane, Introduction
• Inclined Plane, Angle and Components

What to see:

Note at a small angle, say 10 degrees, that the accelerating force, F_para, is small. This results in a small acceleration down the incline, or a small a_para. At 10 degrees the acceleration is so small that the object does not reach speeds high enough to make it to the end of the ramp in the four seconds.

At a large angle, say 80 degrees, the large accelerating force creates a large acceleration down the incline. At this angle the object reaches high speeds and flies off the end of the ramp well before the animation recycles in four seconds.