Crocodile Jump is a playful demonstration of projectile motion. When you launch the crocodile it leaves the bank with a fixed speed split into horizontal and vertical parts using the chosen angle, then gravity pulls it back down. Each animation frame adds a constant downward acceleration to the vertical velocity, so the path traces the familiar parabolic arc you see whenever any object is thrown through the air.
Two sliders shape the leap: Angle (10 to 80 degrees) tilts the launch direction, and Power (10 to 100 per cent) sets the take-off speed. Press Jump to fly and Reset to start over. The readouts report distance, maximum height and time, while a dashed guide previews the aim. The same physics governs basketball shots, water fountains and cannonballs, making this a friendly first taste of mechanics for ages 7 to 11.
What is the Crocodile Jump simulation?
It is an interactive physics toy that helps a crocodile leap across a river to catch its prey on the far bank. You set the launch angle and power, then watch the crocodile follow a curved flight path. It is designed to introduce projectile motion to children aged about 7 to 11.
How does the crocodile follow a curved path?
When launched, its speed is split into a sideways part and an upward part. The sideways speed stays steady, but each frame gravity adds a little downward pull to the upward speed. This slows the rise, then speeds the fall, bending the path into a smooth arc called a parabola.
What do the Angle and Power sliders do?
Angle, from 10 to 80 degrees, points the launch higher or flatter. Power, from 10 to 100 per cent, sets how fast the crocodile leaves the bank. A higher angle gives a tall, short hop, while more power simply throws it further for any given angle.
On level ground, an angle of 45 degrees produces the greatest horizontal distance for a fixed launch speed. This is because 45 degrees shares the speed evenly between going up and going forward. Angles a little above or below this travel noticeably shorter distances.
Horizontal position grows steadily as speed times the cosine of the angle, while vertical motion follows height equals upward-speed times time minus one-half times gravity times time squared. The simulation updates these step by step each frame rather than solving the formula directly.
The shape of the motion is genuine: constant horizontal speed and steadily increasing downward speed give a true parabola, just like real projectiles. Air resistance is ignored, and the gravity and distances use screen pixels, so the numbers are illustrative rather than exact metres.
Distance estimates how far across the scene the crocodile travelled, maximum height shows the peak of its arc above the river, and time gives how many seconds the leap lasted. They update the moment the crocodile lands or splashes into the water.
If the combination of angle and power is too weak, the arc falls short and the crocodile lands in the water between the banks, showing a splash. Increasing the power, or choosing an angle closer to 45 degrees, helps it clear the river and reach the far side.
Real crocodiles can launch up to about a metre out of the water using a powerful flick of the tail, mainly to snatch prey near the surface. The simulation exaggerates this for fun, but the underlying idea of a curved leap shaped by gravity is entirely real.
Almost anywhere something is thrown or fired: a basketball arcing toward the hoop, water rising and falling in a fountain, a long jumper sailing through the air, or a cannonball in flight. They all trace the same parabolic path you see the crocodile follow here.