Skip to Content Go to sign in Skip to Primary Navigation Skip to Secondary Navigation Skip to Page Navigation Skip to Header Navigation Skip to Footer Navigation Read more about accessability options and our navigation

Physics Classroom is making strides to make our site accessible to everyone. Our site contains 6 navigation areas. The Primary, Secondary, and Page Level navigations have a screen reader version of their nav structure that allows using the left and right keys to navigate sibling navigation items, and up or down keys to navigate parent or child navigation items. The others can be navigated using tabs. The Primary Navigation handles the first 2 levels of site pages. The Secondary (which is not always available) handles the 3rd and 4th level of structure. The Page level navigation allows you to navigate the current page's headings quickly. The Header Navigation contains the Light/Dark Mode toggle, Search, Notifications and account login. The Breadcrumb Navigation contains the breadcrumb of the current page. If the current page has a breadcrumb, you can get to it by skipping to the content and tabbing in reverse (shift plus tab). The Footer Navigation contains links such as Privacy, Contact, about and terms. Some resources contain an Audio Player that can be activated by holding down the T key for 3 seconds, and then using K to pause and resume. While not every area of Physics Classroom is usable purely from keyboard and screen reader, we are committed to continue work on making this possible. If you have questions or need additional help, please use this link to contact us.

Return to screen reader navigation
Home Interactives Circular and Satellite Motion Escape Velocity Notes

Escape Velocity Notes

Notes:

The Escape Velocity Interactive is an adjustable-size file that displays nicely on smart phones, on tablets such as the iPad, on Chromebooks, and on laptops and desktops. The size of the Interactive can be scaled to fit the device that it is displayed on. The compatibility with smart phones, iPads, other tablets, and Chromebooks make it a perfect tool for use in a 1:1 classroom.

Teaching Ideas and Suggestions:

This Interactive focuses on the concept of escape velocity. A rock is projected vertically with a velocity. As it rises upward, the gravitational potential energy of the earth-rock system and the kinetic energy fo the rock are calculated. The simulation ends when the maximum height is reached by the rock. The rock's initial velocity can be altered in an effort to escape Earth's gravitational attraction.

There are a variety of input parameters that can be altered. These include the initial velocity of the rock, the mass of the rock, the mass of the planet, and the radius of the planet. For convenience, a collection of planet buttons allow the user to set the planet mass and radius to that of a specific planet.

The simulation includes a variety of displays. These include calculation panels for potential energy, kinetic energy, and total mechanical energy. There are also digital outputs for time, acceleration, velocity, height, and force of gravity.

Related Resources:

There are numerous resources at The Physics Classroom website that serve as very complementary supports for the Escape Velocity Interactive. These include:

Visit: Escape Velocity Interactive