Newtons 2nd Law Demo

Newtons 2nd Law of Motion, Force = mass * acceleration (F=ma), makes sense to many students in one dimensional problems, when the force and the velocity are co-linear. Understanding comes less readily when the force, and therefore the acceleration, is not in the same direction as the velocity. This simple demo, using a hand-drawn sprite reminiscent of a classic arcade game, provides a visual demonstration of the relationship between the acceleration vector and the velocity vector. It also allows the demonstration of the relationship between mass, force, and acceleration. Both the thrust and th...