Please take the page to read this page through, we'll give you a bit of information on how to navigate your way through our pages, as well as any external software/plugins you require to view our pages. Don't forget, you can check back to this page at any time, if you are having trouble navigating around the site. Of course, if your questions are unanswered here, don't hesitate to mail us.

General Information:

First, a bit of general information about our pages. These pages are based on the NSW board of education syllabus for senior Physics (particularly the Electrodynamics, Mechanical Interactions, and Describing motion topics), and hence it is a very valuable resource for high school students. This is not to say that it won't be just as valuable for anyone, anywhere in the world who has an interest in physics.

Configuration:

You will have noticed that when you first visit our pages, you are presented with configuration options, based on the web browser you are using, as well as the bandwidth of you internet connection.

The full version is for high-bandwidth (28.8 and higher) connections, and the latest browsers (such as Netscape Navigator 3, and Microsoft Internet Explorer 3). The full version contains frames, high graphics, Java programs, Java Script, as well as Real Audio, and other forms of media. This is by far the best version of our pages, and we strongly recommend you use it. You can download all the software you need for free off the internet (See below).

The medium version is for those who have access to graphical browsers, but not the latest, or for those whose bandwidth is slightly slower than others. It still contains graphics, although not as many as the full version, but does not use frames, or java (as these require the latest browser), javascript is only used for non-essential functions, and it does not use background images, background sounds, or other multimedia elements which may take up valable bandwidth. If your problem is slower bandwidth, we recommend you turn off auto-loading of images in your browser, and you can then load only the images you need. You still have the option to listen to the Real Audio at your discretion.

The small version of the page is the least enjoyable, but still contains all the valable information you need to learn physics, and is very good for low bandwidth connections, or text-only browsers such as Lynx. The small version doesnt contain any graphics, frames, java, javascript etc, just simple and efficient information. Of course, at times graphics are required for some examples and questions, and in this situation you will be able to click on the graphic and download it to your computer, and then view it with any common graphics application.

Here is a summary of what is required for each version, complete with links to the sites that you can download the software from if applicable. Note: we have purposely limited the amount of external software required so that this site may be viewed by a wide range of people, and with a minimum of fuss.

Navigating:

Ok, after the small introduction to our pages, you will arrive at the main page. From here you have the choice to begin lessons, view the user contributions page, view the help page (which you are reading right now), read about Escopia, and view some links and other related resources from around the internet.

After reading the main screen, you will begin making your way through the site. We recommend you use the menu on the left hand side of the screen, with buttons which will take you to the most commonly used sections of the site.

Clicking on lessons will give you a choice of the three topics this tutorial covers. After reading a breif description, you can make your selectiong by clicking on the name, and you will be taken to the introductory page. From there, you can navigate your way through. (see lessons below).

Clicking on the user contribution button will take you to the user contribution page. This is the most rapidly changing section of our web site, as it grows as more and more users contribute their experiments and ideas. You can also view late breaking information from the Escopia team. Please visit this section, and add your own ideas to this site. You will feel great knowing you are heloing with the education of people world wide.

The help button, as you would have realised, brings you to this page. You can use this button to jump back here at any time.

The about escopia button will take you to a page where you can read about the Escopia team. Please visit if you would like to learn more about the people who are bringing you this site.

Finally, the links and resources button will show you some links to other resources around the internet, related to this tutorial.

Lessons:

Once you have made the selection to begin lessons, you will be presented with a different type of screen. The menu bar and title have been removed to give you maximum lesson space, and you now have a new button bar on the left hand side of the screen. The size has been reduced, but functionality is still at a maximum. Each of the little pictures is a button, which will do a certain task when clicked. Please refer to the following diagram, and an explaination for what each button does.

1. This button will simply take you back to the home screen, and would be used, for example, if you wished to visit one of the other sections of this site.

2. This button is a Topic Quick Jump button. I.e., when you click here, you will be presented with a list of all the lessons from this topic, and other topics, and you will be able to jump to any one you wish. NOTE: This should only be used to jump to topics which you have already completed. We STRONGLY recommend that you work through the lessons in the order presented, as this will maximise your learning. Of course, if you really want to jump around, it is your choice.

3. This button is 'i' for Information. It will bring you straight back to this page, so should you ever forget how to navigate around the site, click it, and check back here.

4. This button is for sending mail to Escopia. It will take you to the mail page, where you can send an e-mail to us right from the web page. You don't even need an external e-mai program. This button may be useful if you think of something you would like to say to us, while you are doing the lessons.

5. This is the reset button, and should be used with care. It will completely restart the tutorial. This may be useful if you have more than one person using this tutorial from the same computer, as 'Physics is Phun' remembers your configuration settings, and the last topic you were up to. (well technically, your browser remembers, and Physics is Phun just checks up with it). This button will erase all settings and take you back to the very first page.

6. This is just an Escopia logo. It plays a kewl sound when you put the mouse over it, and if you click on it, you can see the Credits for the program.

Ok, so that's the button bar. We hope it will make it much easier for you to navigate around the lessons.

Questions:

At the end of most lessons throught the tutorial, you will be presented with some questions to reinforce the knowledge you have gained in that particular lesson. You are able to answer these questions interactively, using the inbuilt java program. This is very easy to do, following these instructions.

When you first begin the questions, you will be given a short test to familiarise yourself with the controls. It simply asks you to click 'A' to continue. Move the mouse over the button with the 'A' on it, in the bottom left area of the screen. These for buttons, along with the text field, and the OK button, are what you will use to answer the questions.

If all goes well, you will be congratulated, and asked to press OK to continue. Click on the OK button in the bottom center of the screen. You will then be given your first question. It will be a multiple choice, and you simply decide on the answer, and click the corresponding letter button. You will then be told if you are wrong or right.

This will be repeated again for question 2 (questions 1 and 2 are always multiple choice). Notice also, your score will be updated in the bottom left corner of the screen. This is for your own benifit, and will not be recorded anywhere.

For questions 3-5 you will be requred to type in an answer, once you have worked it out. Highlight the text 'Type your answer here', delete it, then enter your answer, and then click the OK button. Again, you will be told if you answered correctly or not.

Once you have finished all five questions, you will be prompted to press OK to move on to the next lesson.

Completing the Topic:

Upon completion of a topic, you will be presented with a graduation page, signifying that you have finished. Here, you are presented with an experiment suggestion, which you can try out at home or at school, as well as an interactive java game, as your reward. You may play this game for as long as you like, but when you are finished, click on the first button of the button bar, which (as you recall) will take you back to the main page, and from there, you can venture somewhere else in the site.

Well, that's about all the help we can offer you at the moment. We hope we have answered any questions you may have. You will find this site is intuitively easy to use, as it has been designed that way, but if you have any further questions, please, drop us a mail.

You may now want to return to the main screen.