Teaching-mechanic library

thrust_vehicle · physics · tuner.formula

Concept: Acceleration

Player does: Set thrust so velocity hits the target at the checkpoint

Breaks: Zero velocity means zero acceleration

Acceleration is the rate velocity changes, so an object can have zero velocity while still accelerating, like at the top of a toss.

formula_engine · physics · tuner.formula

Concept: Newton's 2nd law (and any formula)

Player does: Same push on different masses; set the force that hits the target acceleration

Breaks: A constant force produces constant speed

A constant net force produces constant acceleration, not constant speed, since F = ma.

collision_arena · physics · tuner.formula

Concept: Momentum conservation

Player does: Set mass or speed so the post-collision motion hits the target

Breaks: Momentum is lost in collisions

Total momentum is conserved in a collision; what looks lost has transferred between the colliding objects.

force_time_shield · physics · tuner.formula

Concept: Impulse

Player does: Stop the boulder with a short hard shield or a long soft one

Breaks: Stopping force depends only on speed, not stopping time

Impulse equals force times time, so stretching the stopping time over a longer duration reduces the force needed.

height_bank · physics · tuner.formula

Concept: Gravitational PE

Player does: Choose the ledge height that banks exactly enough energy

Breaks: PE depends on the path taken

Gravitational potential energy depends only on height above the reference, not on the path taken to get there.

force_path · physics · tuner.formula

Concept: Work

Player does: Push at an angle; only the component along the path counts

Breaks: Any force on a moving object does work

Work is done only by the force component along the direction of motion; a perpendicular force does no work.

surface_strategy · physics · tuner.formula

Concept: Friction

Player does: Pick the surface coefficient that stops the sled on the pad

Breaks: Friction depends on contact area

Friction force depends on the normal force and the surfaces' coefficient, not on the contact area.

catapult_range · physics · tuner.formula

Concept: Projectile motion

Player does: Set the angle to clear the wall without landing in the lava

Breaks: Horizontal speed slows during flight

Without air resistance, a projectile's horizontal speed stays constant; only its vertical speed changes under gravity.

flow_restrictors · physics · tuner.formula

Concept: Resistance, Ohm's law

Player does: Choose the resistor that sets the bulb to target brightness

Breaks: More resistance means more current

By Ohm's law, more resistance at a fixed voltage means less current, not more.

wave_generator · physics · tuner.formula

Concept: v = fλ

Player does: Tune the frequency so the wavelength fits the chamber

Breaks: Raising frequency raises wave speed

Wave speed is set by the medium; raising frequency shortens the wavelength instead of increasing the speed.

resonance_breaker · physics · tuner.optimize

Concept: Resonance

Player does: Drive the oscillator at the frequency that shatters the crystal

Breaks: Pushing harder always makes bigger oscillations

Oscillation amplitude grows largest when the driving frequency matches the system's natural frequency, resonance, not just from pushing harder.

wave_bridge · physics · tuner.oscillator

Concept: Superposition, interference

Player does: Set the second wave's phase so the sum flattens into a path

Breaks: Two waves always make a bigger wave

Superposition can produce destructive interference, where waves cancel instead of adding to a bigger wave.

light_bender · physics · tuner.formula

Concept: Refraction (Snell's law)

Player does: Angle the beam so it bends through the water onto the sensor

Breaks: Light bends away from the normal entering water

Light slows and bends toward the normal when entering a denser medium like water, not away from it.

gas_balloon · physics · tuner.formula

Concept: Ideal gas law

Player does: Heat the balloon until lift reaches the ledge

Breaks: Gas pressure doesn't depend on temperature

By the ideal gas law, pressure rises with temperature at fixed volume, so temperature and pressure are directly linked.

half_life_vault · physics · tuner.formula

Concept: Radioactive decay

Player does: Set the wait so exactly the target fraction remains

Breaks: After two half-lives it's all gone

Each half-life halves the remaining amount, so after two half-lives a quarter remains, not zero.