arXiv:1303.0079
Enabling Gravity Physics by Inquiry using Easy Java Simulation
Inquiry-based gravity learning with EJS
EJSGravityInquiry
Research Digest
This paper connects gravity simulations to inquiry pedagogy. Students can investigate how gravitational field, potential, orbital motion, or satellite behaviour changes when conditions are varied.
Use It Tomorrow
Ask students to predict before changing a parameter. Then require an explanation using force, field, energy, or orbital language as appropriate.
Pedagogical Move
Use the simulation to compare two cases side by side, because contrast helps students notice what the variable actually controls.
Student Agency
Frame the task so students work like young scientists: they choose or justify the variable to test, make a prediction, collect evidence, defend a claim, and decide how to improve the model or investigation.
Discussion Prompts
- What evidence does the model, video, or activity make visible?
- Which variable should students change first, and what should they keep constant?
- What claim can students make from the evidence, and what limitation should they acknowledge?
Reveal suggested answers
- Evidence: The simulation makes gravitational field, potential, orbital paths, and changes in motion visible when conditions are varied.
- Variable: Change mass, distance, or initial speed first; keep the comparison case, units, and display scale fixed.
- Claim: Students can claim how gravity changes with distance or initial conditions, while acknowledging that the simulation uses an idealised model.