Take a look at Force and Motion from Fable and you may agree that some things are worth paying for. This BETT award winning title offers 11 programs to help with ideas like velocity-time graphs, two dimensional collisions and the orbits of satellites. Like the best software models there are variables to change and results to see and record. For example, in the "circular motion" program students can investigate the relationship between frequency, radius or mass. Another lets you draw vectors and change speed or distance in this bemusing topic. Unlike many, it installs easily on a network and there's accompanying pupil material to save aeons thinking this through.

Times Educational Supplement Online 7th SEPT 2001

Force and Motion is a sweet new piece of software. Aimed at key stage 4 plus it offers a chance to experiment with models of collisions, circular motion, satellite orbits and so on. The sweetness comes from a mix of nice looking graphics and game-like scenarios that do things not really possible in the lab. For example they can click and draw a velocity-time graph and then see a sports car drive along to mimic the graph. If the windswept hair of the drive adds fun, science teachers will quickly see this as a teaching tool. In other experiments pupils change the sizes of two billiard balls and explore how they collide and guide a satellite orbiting the Earth. Here is software that actually solves problems, never mind that there's a lot here for the money and its quick to find out what to do.

Educational Computing and Technology magazine SEPT 2001

Force and Motion, the award winning software from Fable Multimedia, gives physics a 'real life' flavour. Key Stage 4 students can experiment with satellite orbits, terminal velocity and journeys to the moon - tasks not usually possible in the classroom. The package has a selection of interactive models on different topics, which help students build an intuitive feel for the way a system behaves. For instance, students can draw a velocity-time graph and then see a red convertible speed along in response to changes in the graph. The driver's hair blows in the wind as she gains speed. Or, consider the Apollo 11 mission and ask pupils to apply their knowledge of physics to guide a rocket from the earth to the moon. They must first consider the amount of fuel they will need. Adjustments are made by altering the velocity vector of the rocket. But each alteration has a cost to pay in terms of fuel. Gravity, the rocket's variable mass, fuels loss are a part of the equation and there is a "real" risk of being stranded in space. Other models include: One and two dimensional collisions, adding vectors, and projectile motion. Every model contains a set of tasks, such as analysing data which can then either be graphed or exported to a spreadsheet. The tasks come with detailed solutions which are password protected so the teacher is in control. You can also use Force and Motion as a demonstration tool. When a class begins a new topic, choose one of the models to illustrate. Hit the pause button halfway through and ask, "what will happen next ?" Even jaded students will see that physics does have something to do with the real world after all.

The National Union of Teachers Journal April 2001