Physics through Problem Solving

Grade 11 & 12 Physics, Oakville

Interactive Physics

These are some of the concepts from Grade 11 and 12 physics that students often find confusing. We'll discuss these in more detail during actual tutoring sessions, using pen and paper or a whiteboard and marker.

Relative Velocity & Reference Frames (1D)

A ball walks back and forth inside a moving train. Watch it from the ground and from inside the train: same motion, two different observers, two different answers.

Misconception: that velocity is a fixed property of an object, rather than something that depends entirely on who's observing it.

Relative Velocity in 2D: The River-Crossing Swimmer

Adjust a swimmer's heading angle against a river current and watch crossing time and downstream drift trade off in real time.

Misconception: assuming the angle that gets you across fastest is the same angle that lands you directly opposite your starting point.

Projectile Motion

Change the launch angle and speed of a projectile and watch horizontal and vertical motion play out completely independently.

Misconception: that a faster horizontal launch speed means a shorter time in the air. Time of flight depends only on the vertical motion.

Uniform Circular Motion

Adjust radius and speed, then cut the string and watch the object fly off in a straight line, not outward.

Misconception: the idea of an outward "centrifugal force." There is no such force; only inward centripetal force is real.

Conservation of Mechanical Energy: The Swinging Pendulum

Pause the swing at any point and see the exact kinetic/potential energy split, or jump straight to the two extremes with one click.

Misconception: that the pendulum has "no energy" at the top of its swing, confusing zero velocity with zero energy.

Momentum & Collisions: Elastic vs. Inelastic

Set masses and speeds, then run the same collision as elastic or perfectly inelastic and compare the before/after numbers directly.

Misconception: assuming kinetic energy is always conserved in a collision, the way momentum always is. It isn't, except in the elastic case.

Coulomb's Law: Electric Force Between Charges

Change charge magnitude, sign, and distance, and watch the force arrows resize and flip between attractive and repulsive.

Misconception: assuming doubling the distance halves the force. The inverse-square relationship means it actually drops to one-quarter.

Gravity: Sun, Earth & Moon

Watch Earth and the Moon orbit together, then remove each body one at a time and see exactly what Newton's First Law predicts happens next.

Misconception: that removing the Sun would make Earth simply stop. Instead, it would travel in a straight line forever, since gravity was the only thing curving its path.

Radioactive Decay & Half-Life

Watch 100 individual nuclei decay at genuinely random moments, while the total count still traces the same smooth exponential curve every time.

Misconception: thinking a nucleus that has survived a long time is somehow "due" to decay. Decay probability has no memory of how long a nucleus has already existed.
Curious how these ideas show up outside the classroom? See Why Physics? for a few surprising real-world hooks, or book the free Readiness Assessment to see where you stand.