The Physics Lab for teachers.
Twelve free, interactive physics simulations, each with a printable student activity and an answer key. Students need no accounts, and everything runs on school Chromebooks with nothing to install.
Ready-made classroom activities
Each activity is a one-page worksheet that walks students through the simulation’s own controls and presets, with observation, prediction and calculation questions. Times are for a typical class working in pairs.
Standards connections refer to the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). We list one only where the experiment clearly supports it.
Need mixed practice instead? The worksheet generator prints 8-, 12- or 20-question sheets from the 100-question bank, with an optional answer key.
Three ways to use the simulations in class
Assign it in Google Classroom
Use a Share to Google Classroom button (on every experiment, lesson and worksheet) to post the simulation as an assignment or material, and attach the worksheet. Students open it straight from Classroom.
Project it for a demo
Run an experiment on the board and ask the class to predict before you change a slider. The presets make it quick to jump between cases, such as Earth and Moon gravity or series and parallel circuits.
Station rotation
Set up three or four experiments on shared devices, each with its worksheet. Groups rotate every 15–20 minutes and compare findings at the end.
Built for school devices
No installs, plug-ins or logins. The simulations run in the browser on Chromebooks, laptops and tablets, keep working on a slow connection once a page has loaded, and support keyboard controls.
Student privacy
Students never create accounts, and we never ask for names, email addresses or answers. Worksheets are completed on paper or in your own Classroom assignment, so student work never reaches this site.
Students who open a simulation from Google Classroom, Canvas or Schoology see no ads. The same applies to links shared with the buttons on this site. To remember this, the student’s browser stores only an “ad-free until” date, for 30 days.
To be transparent: the site uses Google Analytics to measure how pages are used (such as pages viewed, device type and approximate country), and it shows a few labeled Adsterra banner ads to other visitors to keep the lab free. Read the privacy policy for details.
About the answer keys
Every number in an answer key is calculated with the same model the simulation uses, so students’ readings will match. Answer keys are not linked from student pages and are hidden from search engines, but they are not password-protected.
Tell us what you need
Using an experiment with your class? We would love to know what worked and which topic you would like next. The site does not have a contact address yet; in the meantime, About the lab explains how each model works and what it assumes.
Teacher questions
Wondering about the why? Start here.
Is The Physics Lab free for classrooms?
Yes. Every simulation, student activity, answer key and printable worksheet is free, with no sign-up and no limit on the number of students.
Do students need accounts or logins?
No. Students open a link and start experimenting. Nothing is saved to an account, and worksheets are completed on paper or in your own Classroom assignment.
Does it work on Chromebooks and tablets?
Yes. The simulations run in any modern browser, including Chrome on school Chromebooks and Safari on iPads, with nothing to install. JavaScript must be enabled.
Will my students see ads?
Students who open a simulation from Google Classroom, Canvas or Schoology, or through a Share to Google Classroom link on this site, see no ads on that device for 30 days. Other visitors see a few clearly labeled banner ads, which keep the site free.
Which standards do the activities support?
Where an experiment clearly fits, its activity lists the NGSS performance expectation it connects to, such as HS-PS2-1 for force and motion or HS-PS4-1 for waves. The simulations are supplements rather than complete lessons, so use them alongside your curriculum.
Can I adapt the worksheets?
Yes. Print them as they are, paste the questions into your own Classroom assignment, or set up an experiment the way you want and use its Copy link button to share those exact settings. For mixed practice, the worksheet generator builds 8-, 12- or 20-question sheets with an answer key.