User request: disable values

[oliver-phet]

I have been working with the charges and fields simulation and have a suggestion. I would like to have students trace out the equipotentials manually, much as I have them do so in a physical laboratory exercise with conducting paper or with a pan of water with electrodes in it. However, once they realize they can use the options to show potential values and then to draw equipotentials directly, the engaged discovery aspect is lost, which is so critical to effective learning. Is it possible to post a second version where these options are disabled? I downloaded the html file and was immediately convinced that I lack the programming skill to make the necessary changes myself.

[arouinfar]

It sounds like the user wants a version without the equipotential tool (which displays the voltage as you drag it around) and the Values checkbox. The equipotential tool is core to the learning goals of the simulation, and it is not something we would remove. We could perhaps turn this into a two screen sim and have an "Intro" screen without these options, but I'm still not convinced.

@oliver-phet can you ask the user to share their activity with us? I can't really evaluate this request any further without seeing the context.

[oliver-phet]

Email sent to user, will reply when I hear back.

[oliver-phet]

Activity sent via slack to @arouinfar

[arouinfar]

Thanks @oliver-phet. I've uploaded a copy of the activity to the sim's design folder: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1CMGG0S2FoSocTDit8B0vJc_wWDYWzjB5/view

Essentially, the activity asks students to:

1. Create a charge arrangement
2. Test out the electric field with the sensors at a few strategic locations (Values is checked)
3. Drag the equipotential tool on top of the sensors and compare the values
4. Discover the equipotential line by dragging the equipotential tool around the play area while maintaining a constant voltage reading
5. After having an idea of what the equipotential line looks like, use the draw button on the equipotential tool to draw it.

Here are a few excerpts (emphasis added) showing how the user uses the equipotential tool.

Return the sensor dots to their box, then drag out the voltmeter and work through the same series of investigations for electric potential. There is no direction this time, so explore how the magnitude of the potential varies with position. Those same positions are good ones to compare here as well. But for electric potential a more important concept is an equipotential, which is the set of all points where the potential has the same value. Pick a particular value, say, 6 V and find a spot where the voltmeter has that reading. Then move around while maintaining a value at or near 6 V and try to envision the shape of the path being traced out. Repeat for several different values.

While you may use all the tools available, you are strongly advised to repeat the process as before. That is, first study the field direction at a variety of places throughout the space. Next, deduce the equipotential lines based on the field you just found, and test your impressions by trying to trace them out with the voltmeter. Only after that is completed should you have the equipotentials drawn automatically.

It looks like the user wants a way to display the value of the electric potential without allowing students to draw it. One way to do this would be to remove the draw/erase buttons from the equipotential tool. I think a better way of achieving this goal would be to introduce a 2nd sensor type that displays the value of the electrostatic potential.

The sim isn't currently being worked on, but when iO work resumes we should consider the user suggestions currently open in the repo and evaluate which (if any) can be rolled into the next release.