New Items in Zona Land Education
Notice our new Web address. We are now zonalandeducation.com (Zona Land Education). We are no longer going to be located at our old address. However, this new site is a mirror copy, page for page, of the old site, and all traffic to the old site is redirected here. So there should be no problems using any old links. Please, though, update any favorites or other listings of Zona Land addresses that you may have. The redirection should be in force for the foreseeable future, but not forever.
The Mighty F=ma (2/2011)
Newton's Second Law of Motion can be summarized with the equation F=ma, or net force equals mass times acceleration. A lengthy page completely explaining this equation has been added to Zona Land Education. See how the entire Second Law boils down to this equation.
Other ways to say Newton's Laws of Motion (1/2011)
Here is a collection of statements for Isaac Newton's Three Laws of Motion. Each law is stated several times using language like you might find in textbooks. Each statement has an expanding explanation that aims to show how each wording for a law really is saying the same physics.
Ways to say Newton's First Law
Ways to say Newton's Second Law
Ways to say Newton's Third Law
You can also find links to these pages and more details about each law on the home pages for each of Newton's Laws of Motion:
Newton's Laws of Motion: First Second Third
The Index and Contents (1/2011)
The Index and Contents have been updated and expanded. Hopefully they will prove to be more useful now.
The inclined Plane - Angles and Components (1/2011)
This page shows the relationship between the size of the angle and the sizes of the component forces on an inclined plane. The explanation shows how the your common sense understanding of the way that things slide down inclines really is represented by the trigonometry functions that are used in the formulas for the component forces. Graphs and animated interactive diagrams are presented to help with this understanding.
The Inclined Plane - Angles and Components
The Four Second Inclined Plane Joyride (1/2011)
Well, if you like inclined planes and have four seconds to spare, this may just make your day. Here is an animation that presents realistic motion for an object sliding down a frictionless inclined plane. The animation recycles every four seconds. You control the angle of the incline. Important weight components are presented. It's easy to see, for example, how large inclines create large accelerating forces.
The Four Second Inclined Plane Joyride
The inclined plane - an introduction (1/2011)
The inclined plane, or ramp, is a common simple machine studied in physics. It is an interesting example because it shows a force vector resolved into components that are not the typical x- and y-components that are usually associated with the concept of vector components. More examples and animations are in the works for this topic shortly.
An introduction to the inclined plane
Weight (1/2011)
The Force section has a whole new topic, weight. Weight is the pull of gravity present on the surface of a planet. Animations and a question set included.
Newton's Third Law (2=12/2010)
Isaac Newton's Third Law of Motion page now has a new animation demonstrating equal and opposite forces during a collision.
Isaac Newton's Third Law of Motion
Newton's Second Law (12/2010)
Isaac Newton's Second Law of Motion page now has two new animations that demonstrate the direct proportion between acceleration and force, and the inverse proportion between acceleration and mass.
Isaac Newton's Second Law of Motion
Ten Second Spaceship Ride (12/2010)
Here is an interactive, two dimensional motion demonstration. Adjust the starting conditions for the trajectory of a little spaceship across the (x, y) plane, and watch how your changes alter its motion. This demo is great for understanding all the combinations of positive and negative positions, velocities, and accelerations.
