Block-on-a-Wedge Physics Simulation
Tilt the ramp, change the friction — the block slides when tanθ beats μ, and mass never matters.
Opens a live board in your browser. No install, no hardware.
Wedge angle, friction μ and mass sliders. The block holds, then slides.
The inclined plane is where students first meet the surprising truth that a heavy block and a light block slide at the same angle. Instead of asserting it, let them try to break it: raise the mass as high as it goes and watch the slide angle refuse to change.
45-minute outline
How to teach it
- Predict (5 min): does a heavier block slide at a smaller angle? Vote.
- Test (10 min): raise the mass slider to the max — the slide angle doesn't move.
- Explain (15 min): reveal a = g(sinθ − μcosθ); students find the angle where sliding begins.
- Check (10 min): Analyze the board and push a short check on tanθ vs μ.
Standard
NGSS MS-PS2-2
This lesson is built to support NGSS MS-PS2-2 for Grades 7–9. Alignment is a teaching guide, not an official endorsement — check it against your district's pacing.
“Watching the class realize mass cancels — that was the whole lesson, and it took two minutes.”
Teach Block-on-a-Wedge Physics Simulation tomorrow.
Open the live board, invite your class, and start.