Creating interactive physics simulations using the power of GeoGebra

Tom Walsh

Citation: The Physics Teacher 55, 316 (2017); doi: 10.1119/1.4981047

View online: http://dx.doi.org/10.1119/1.4981047
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Published by the American Association of Physics Teachers

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talkin’ physics North Broward Preparatory School, Coconut Creek, FL 33073; dgende@gmail.
Creating interactive physics
simulations using the power
of GeoGebra
Tom Walsh, Livingston High School, Livingston, NJ 07039;
tw@ophysics.com
I have long incorporated physics simulations in my physics
teaching, and truly appreciate those who have made their
simulations available to the public. I often would think of an
idea for a simulation I would love to be able to use, but with
no real programming background I did not know how I could
make my own. That was the case until I discovered GeoGe-
bra, which is an open source software offering “Dynamic
Mathematics for Teaching and Learning.” GeoGebra is freely
available for non-commercial users. It is powerful, easy to
learn, and versatile. There are versions for Windows, Mac, and
Linux, as well as tablet and phone versions. It can also be run
directly from a Chrome browser.1
The beauty of the GeoGebra software is that you do not
need to learn a programming language to use it to create re-
alistic interactive simulations and animations of all sorts of
physical phenomena. Simulations created in GeoGebra run
in any desktop or tablet (iPad) browser—they do not require
extensions like Flash or Java. The software also allows for the
easy export of animated GIFs if you are just looking to create
a moving illustration as opposed to an interactive simulation.
As long as you understand the mathematics behind the phys-
ics of something, you can likely simulate it using GeoGebra.
Fig. 1. GeoGebra main window.
The main GeoGebra window (Fig. 1) is just a 2D coordi-
nate plane with an x- and y-axis, although 3D graphics also
are available. You can add objects using the input bar at the
bottom of the screen or the row of buttons across the top. Type
“y=3x+4” into the input bar and that line will appear in your
graphics window. Better yet, use a button to create adjustable
sliders that allow the user to pick the value of a number.
Make a slider called “m” and another called “b”, and then
type “y = mx+b” into the input window. Now the line that ap-
316 THE PHYSICS TEACHER ◆ Vol. 55, May 2017
Dolores Gende, Column Editor
Fig. 2. Change the initial conditions and watch the resulting
changes in the projectile’s motion.
pears is dynamic. Move the “m” or “b” sliders and watch the
changes in the line in real time.
Suppose you want to make a simple projectile motion
simulation, one that will show the motion of a projectile with
given initial horizontal and vertical velocities. Open the soft-
ware and create three sliders, one called v0x, one called v0y,
and one called t. The horizontal position of the projectile is
given by v0x*t, the vertical is given by v0y*t-4.9*t2. So, cre-
ate a point A by typing into the input bar: “A = (v0x*t,v0y*t-
4.9*t^2)”. Now use the sliders to choose the initial horizontal
and vertical velocities. Move the time slider and watch as
point A moves through a perfect parabolic trajectory. You can
also right-click on the time slider and turn animation on, so
that you can watch the projectile’s motion as the time elapses
automatically. Experiment with the software and you’ll figure
out how to enhance your simulation by adding in control but-
tons, check boxes, and representing vector components. (See
Fig. 2.)
To share a GeoGebra simulation, you upload it to the
“Materials” area of the GeoGebra website.2 There are literally
hundreds of thousands of free interactive materials available
on their site. Best of all, they all can be freely downloaded
and opened with the GeoGebra software to see how they
were created. Some will be easy to figure out, others are more
complex, but all can easily be examined. Once a simulation is
loaded to the GeoGebra site, it is easy to access the “embed”
code so that it can be added to a website or even an iBook. All
of my simulations are available through the GeoGebra web-
site.3
I also created my personal website4 to provide my students
with easy access to all my simulations. I have my students use
them to help them see relationships and visualize concepts.
I use them in my classes for demos, virtual labs, and practice
problems. They do not replace physical demos or hands-on
labs, but they do a great job allowing students to quickly ex-
DOI: 10.1119/1.4981047

Fig. 3. Visualize the equipotentials and electric field of two charg-
es in two and three dimensions.
periment in class or at home, in order to gain insight of many
physics concepts.
One of my favorite things about creating physics simula-
tions in GeoGebra is that I often get a deeper understanding
of a topic or phenomenon through creating a simulation of it
(Fig. 3).
Even after having taught a certain concept for many years,
I find myself understanding it better after figuring out how to
mathematically and graphically simulate it.
Figuring Physics April 2017 Answer
THE PHYSICS TEACHER ◆ Vol. 55, May 2017
talkin’ physics
If I had more class time with my students, I would love to
teach them the basics of the software and have them create
their own simulations.
I am not affiliated with the makers of the GeoGebra soft-
ware in any way. I just find it to be a wonderful free tool for
teaching all sorts of physics concepts. I encourage all physics
teachers to check it out and to experiment with it. The soft-
ware has excellent documentation5 and a YouTube tutorial
channel.6
Spend a little time with it and you too will be creating use-
ful simulations and animations. I also encourage you to share
your simulations. Even though I create simulations for use
by my own students, it brings me great pleasure to be able to
share them publicly, and to hear from other physics teachers
and students who find them useful.
References
1. Geogebra downloads, https://www.geogebra.org/download .
2. Geogebra materials, https://www.geogebra.org/materials/ .
3. Tom Walsh Geogebra simulations, https://www.geogebra.org/
ukukuku .
4. Physics: Interactive Physics Simulations, http://ophysics.com/.
5. Geogebra tutorials, https://wiki.geogebra.org/en/Tutorials .
6. GeoGebra tutorials YouTube Channel, https://www.youtube.
com/user/GeoGebraChannel/ .
DOI: 10.1119/1.4981048
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