What is PhET?

PhET Interactive Simulators is a website from University of Colorado Boulder with hundreds of online simulators that are extremely useful for any science class. PhET originally stood for Physics Education Technology when it was founded as a non-profit project in 2002, but was later turned into a multidisciplinary tool. There are simulations for physics, biology, chemistry, earth science, and math, with useful subsections for each of these areas. For instance, the physics demos are divided into motion, sound and waves, heat and thermodynamics, quantum phenomena, light and radiation, and electricity, magnets circuits. 

How to use

The common theme for these demos is the ability to manipulate variables and examine the effect on other variables. For example, the Ramp: Forces and Motion interactive demo allows you to manipulate the variables of friction, vectors, walls, and initial position to examine the effect of a force over time on acceleration, velocity, and position of an object.

Requirements and Tools

Each of the demos use Javascript, (Sun Java 1.5.0_15 or later) and are free to download and use. Each demo additionally comes with a "teacher tips" section, with a PDF file explaining how to use the application, how to relate these concepts to standards, and sample learning goals. Each demo is also available in nearly fifty different languages. Another useful tool on the site is the ability to sort through demos based on grade level, with options of elementary school through university level demos.

https://phet.colorado.edu/en/simulations/category/new