Instructions.
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Drag the red and blue points on the axis in the middle panel to set their starting positions.
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Adjust the sliders in the top panel to set the speeds for Car A (Red) and Car B (Blue).
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Click “Start” in the bottom panel to begin the animation.
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Observe the Relative Speed and Distance Covered readouts. The simulation will pause automatically if the cars meet.
Use the interactive tool to investigate the following scenarios:
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Set both Car A and Car B to the exact same speed (e.g., \(10\) m/s). Start the animation. What happens to the "Relative Speed" readout? Does the distance gap between them ever change?
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Set Car A (the rear car) to a higher speed than Car B. Observe the "Distance Covered" labels. Even though Car A starts behind, why does its "Distance Covered" increase faster than Car B’s?
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Set Car A to a lower speed than Car B. Predict whether the "Cars Met!" message will ever appear. Why is the relative speed still a positive number even though the cars are getting further apart?