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Created 12/2/15. Updates available online.

The Ramp

The Ramp Screenshot
  • Force
  • Energy
  • Work

About

Topics

  • Force
  • Energy
  • Work

Description

Explore forces, energy and work as you push household objects up and down a ramp. Lower and raise the ramp to see how the angle of inclination affects the parallel forces acting on the file cabinet. Graphs show forces, energy and work.

Sample Learning Goals

  • Explain the motion of an object on an incline plane by drawing free body diagrams.
  • Calculate the net force on an object on an incline.
Version 1.07

For Teachers

Teacher Tips

Download teacher tips PDF Overview of sim controls, model simplifications, and insights into student thinking (PDF).

Teacher-Submitted Activities

Title Gold Star Contribution Contribution by PhET Authors Level Type Updated
Concept questions for Physics using PhET (Inquiry Based) A gold star indicates high-quality, inquiry-based activities that follow the PhET design guidelines. This contribution was designed by PhET. Trish Loeblein HS
UG-Intro		 CQs 5/27/15
Algebra-based Physics Semester one lessons, clicker questions, and schedule in pdf (Inquiry Based) A gold star indicates high-quality, inquiry-based activities that follow the PhET design guidelines. This contribution was designed by PhET. Trish Loeblein HS
UG-Intro		 CQs
Demo
Lab
HW		 5/27/15
Alignment of PhET sims with NGSS This contribution was designed by PhET. Trish Loeblein HS Other 10/19/15
How do PhET simulations fit in my middle school program? This contribution was designed by PhET. Sarah Borenstein MS Other 10/19/15
MS and HS TEK to Sim Alignment Elyse Zimmer HS
MS		 Other 10/19/15
Kinematics Wang Yunhe HS Lab 8/18/15
PhET Simulations Aligned for AP Physics C Roberta Tanner HS Other 8/12/15
The Ramp PhET Lab Chris Bires HS Lab 10/24/14
Work Energy on a Ramp Kristy Bibbey HS Lab 4/14/14
The Ramp Mechanical Advantage and Efficiency Tim Perry MS Lab 11/1/13
Work - Energy Sarah Stanhope HS Lab 1/27/11
Forces in 1 and 2 Dimensions Sarah Stanhope HS Lab 1/27/11
Ramp Simulation Activity Drew Isola HS CQs 1/11/09
Intro to energy Leslie Trexler MS Lab 5/5/08
The Ramp--Conservation of Energy Chris Cochran MS Lab 9/20/07

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Translations

Language Download or Run
Arabic العربية Run now المنحدر All sims in Arabic
Arabic (Saudi Arabia) العربية (السعودية) Run now المنحدر All sims in Arabic (Saudi Arabia)
Basque Basque Run now Arlanpa All sims in Basque
Chinese (Simplified) 中文 (中国) Run now 斜面 All sims in Chinese (Simplified)
Chinese (Traditional) 中文 (台灣) Run now 斜坡 All sims in Chinese (Traditional)
Croatian hrvatski Run now Tijelo na kosini All sims in Croatian
Czech čeština Run now Rampa All sims in Czech
Danish Dansk Run now Rampen All sims in Danish
Dutch Nederlands Run now Krachten op een helling All sims in Dutch
Estonian Eesti Run now Kaldpind. All sims in Estonian
Finnish suomi Run now Kaltevataso All sims in Finnish
French français Run now La rampe All sims in French
Galician Gallegan Run now O Plano inclinado All sims in Galician
Georgian Georgian Run now ქანობი All sims in Georgian
German Deutsch Run now Schiefe Ebene All sims in German
Greek Ελληνικά Run now Κεκλιμένο Επίπεδο All sims in Greek
Hebrew עברית Run now מדרון משופע All sims in Hebrew
Hungarian magyar Run now A lejtő All sims in Hungarian
Indonesian Bahasa Indonesia Run now Bidang Miring All sims in Indonesian
Italian italiano Run now La rampa All sims in Italian
Japanese 日本語 Run now 傾斜台(The Ramp) All sims in Japanese
Kannada Kannada Run now ಇಳಿಜಾರು(ರಾಂಪ್) All sims in Kannada
Kazakh Kazakh Run now Құтырғандық All sims in Kazakh
Khmer Khmer Run now ប្លង់ទេរ All sims in Khmer
Korean 한국어 Run now 경사대 All sims in Korean
Kurdish (Turkey) Kurdish (Turkey) Run now Hevraz All sims in Kurdish (Turkey)
Lithuanian Lietuvių Run now Nuožulnioji plokštuma All sims in Lithuanian
Macedonian македонски Run now Тело на косина All sims in Macedonian
Malay Bahasa Melayu Run now Tanjakan All sims in Malay
Norwegian Bokmal Norsk bokmål Run now Rampa All sims in Norwegian Bokmal
Persian فارسی Run now سطح شیبدار All sims in Persian
Polish polski Run now Równia pochyla All sims in Polish
Portuguese (Brazil) português (Brasil) Run now A RAMPA All sims in Portuguese (Brazil)
Romanian română Run now Planul înclinat All sims in Romanian
Serbian Српски Run now Стрма раван All sims in Serbian
Slovak Slovenčina Run now Rampa All sims in Slovak
Slovenian Slovenščina Run now Klanec All sims in Slovenian
Spanish español Run now La Rampa All sims in Spanish
Spanish (Peru) español (Perú) Run now La Rampa All sims in Spanish (Peru)
Swedish svenska Run now Rampen All sims in Swedish
Turkish Türkçe Run now Rampa All sims in Turkish
Turkmen Turkmen Run now Ýapgyt tekizlik - platforma All sims in Turkmen
Ukrainian українська Run now Похила поверхня All sims in Ukrainian
Vietnamese Tiếng Việt Run now Mặt phẳng nghiêng All sims in Vietnamese

Software Requirements

Windows Macintosh Linux
Microsoft Windows
XP/Vista/7
Sun Java 1.5.0_15 or later
OS 10.5 or later
Sun Java 1.5.0_19 or later
Sun Java 1.5.0_15 or later

Credits

Design Team Third-party Libraries Thanks To
  • Wendy Adams
  • Trish Loeblein
  • Kathy Perkins
  • Sam Reid (developer)
  • Carl Wieman
  • Interviewer: Danielle Harlow
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