Angry Bird Physics

Rhett Allain
Southeastern Louisiana University
Dot Physics - Wired Science Blogs

AAPT - Winter 2012

Monday, February 6, 12
 Angry Birds?
• Why are they angry?

Monday, February 6, 12
 How big is the bird?
• First, is this projectile motion?
• How do you even get data?
• Best = Video Analysis (like Tracker)
• Not Bad = a ruler and a stop watch
• How would I even know if it is projectile
motion?

Monday, February 6, 12
 • Slingshot = 1 unit.
• v-x = constant
• a-y = constant

Monday, February 6, 12
 2 2
ay 2 AB/s = 9.8 m/s

70 cm
1 AB = 4.9 m

• Big BIRD!
• Intro Physics Projectile motion? YES.

Monday, February 6, 12
 Ok, but why?

• Everyone loves Angry Birds

• We don’t know the “rules”
• Similar to the real world, but not
• You can set up your own experiments

Monday, February 6, 12
 What about the blue bird?

Monday, February 6, 12
 Setting up an experiment

Red Blue-1 Blue-3

• Collision between the red and that rock

• Collision between one blue bird and rock
(before split)
• Collision between one bird and rock (after
split)
Monday, February 6, 12
 The Physics

Monday, February 6, 12
 Red Bird Collision

Red bird
rock

7.8 m/s
mrb
mro = 23.2 m/s ( 2.2 m/s) = 0.31

Monday, February 6, 12
 Results
= 0.29 MR
= 1 MR
= 0.29 MR

= 0.019 MR
= 0.29 MR
Total = 0.87 MR

• Turning Blue bird into three increases mass

by a factor of 45.

Monday, February 6, 12
 What does this tell us?
• Mass is not conserved in Angry Birds?
• The extra birds come from another
dimension?
• Always expand the blue bird before a
collision.

Monday, February 6, 12
 The Yellow Bird

• Something happens when you tap, but

what?

Monday, February 6, 12
 Constant acceleration?

Monday, February 6, 12
 Speed before vs. Speed after

No relationship?
Monday, February 6, 12
 Constant Final Velocity?

Monday, February 6, 12
 Some weird stuff
What I expect
same y-acceleration

constant velocity

bird at negative
angle during tap

Monday, February 6, 12
 Acceleration and angle

Monday, February 6, 12
 Why Angry Birds?
• Students are already familiar with this
• The data is easy to get
• They probably already experiment with the
levels
• You can look up the physics, but that might
not be the answer

Monday, February 6, 12
 White Bird

Is momentum conserved?

Monday, February 6, 12
 Black Bird

• Kinetic energy of debris

• Stored energy in the bird
Monday, February 6, 12
 Other Questions
• Could the white bird conserve momentum?
• How much energy stored in the black
bomb bird?
• What is the difference in density - rock vs.
wood
• How would you best aim the green bird?

Monday, February 6, 12
 Bonus Material
• Global Physics Department
http://bit.ly/G_Physics_D
• Blogging
• Resources http://bit.ly/ABphysics

Monday, February 6, 12
 Is the launch speed
even constant?

q
ks2
v2 = m 2gs sin ✓

Monday, February 6, 12
 How do you get the
launch speed?

Monday, February 6, 12
 Launch speed data

• Average of 23.1 m/s (+/- 2.4 m/s)

Monday, February 6, 12