Golf Range Gizmo Updated

This week we have updated one of our oldest and most popular Gizmos, Golf Range! The unique combination of sports and projectile motion makes this a fun and vital physics lesson. Along with great-looking new graphics and a complete set of curriculum materials, we have added several new features:

• Horizontal and vertical velocity vectors, allowing students to see which component of velocity changes as the ball travels through the air.
• A grid and crosshairs, allowing students to plot the parabolic trajectory of the ball.
• An adjustable cliff, allowing the golfer to tee-off from any height.

With all of these new features, the Gizmo can be used for an informal exploration of the factors affecting flight, or for an in-depth, quantitative physics lesson on projectile motion. Check out the Exploration Guide for more suggestions on how to approach this fundamental topic.

Of course, the one feature we didn't change was the sound clip of Gizmo inventor Raman Pfaff announcing, "Hole in one!"