15 AI Simulation Prompts for Teachers, by Subject

These AI simulation prompts are ready to copy. Each follows the pattern the AI handles best: grade and topic, what is on screen, sliders with ranges and units, what to show, and the model to use. For every prompt you get the level to choose, the values to check in the result, and one follow-up edit. There are 15: three each for math, physics and chemistry, and two each for biology, earth science and computer science. Every number in the prompts has been checked, so the check values are your answer key.

New to creating simulations? Read how to create a simulation for your lesson with AI first. This page is the prompt collection.

How to use these prompts

1. Search the library first: playing is free, and several prompts below name a close match.
2. Go to Create (/app/create) and choose the tier given as the level: Simple (15 credits, 5 free edits), Medium (25 credits, 5 free edits) or Complex (80 credits, 10 free edits).
3. Under What are you teaching?, pick the Subject, type a short Topic (up to 60 characters) and choose the Language of the simulation. The AI writes every label in that language.
4. Paste the prompt into What should the simulation show?
5. Click Create, then run the checks.
6. Send the follow-up edit to the AI assistant next to the preview. After the free edits, each edit costs 2 credits.

Making all 15 costs 490 credits. A 500-credit pack is $25, and Pro includes 200 credits a month (see pricing). For a fuller test routine, use how to check an AI-made simulation before class.

Math prompts

1. Pythagorean theorem with squares

Level: Simple (15 credits). Subject: Mathematics. Topic: Pythagorean theorem

Grade 8 math, the Pythagorean theorem. A right triangle on a square grid with a square drawn on each side. Sliders for the legs a and b, whole numbers from 1 to 12 (defaults 3 and 4). Show the area of each square, the hypotenuse c to two decimal places, and the equation a² + b² = c² with the numbers filled in. Highlight c in green when it is a whole number.

Check: 3 and 4 give squares of 9, 16 and 25, and c = 5. 1 and 1 give c = 1.41. With legs up to 12, only 3–4, 6–8, 5–12 and 9–12 (in either order) turn green.

Follow-up edit: "Add a list that records every pair of legs that gives a whole-number c."

2. Estimating π with random dots

Level: Medium (25 credits). Subject: Mathematics. Topic: Estimating π by simulation

Grade 9–10 math, probability and estimating π. Random dots land in a 2 × 2 square with a circle of radius 1 inside it. Buttons: Add 1, Add 100, Add 1,000 and Reset. Color dots inside the circle blue and outside orange. Show the number inside, the total, and the estimate π ≈ 4 × inside ÷ total, with a line graph of the estimate against the number of dots and a dashed line at 3.14159.

Check: the fraction inside should settle near 0.785 (π/4). After 1,000 dots, about 95% of runs give 3.04 to 3.25; after 10,000, 3.11 to 3.17.

Follow-up edit: "When Reset is pressed, keep the previous run's graph in gray so students can compare two runs."

3. Volume of revolution with disks

Level: Complex (80 credits). Subject: Mathematics. Topic: Volumes of revolution

Grade 12 calculus, volumes of revolution. A rotatable 3D view: the region under y = √x from x = 0 to x = 4 spins around the x-axis to form a solid. A slider for the number of disks n from 1 to 50 (default 10) and a switch for left or right endpoints. Show the disks, their total volume, and the exact volume π∫₀⁴ x dx = 8π ≈ 25.13.

Check: n = 10 gives 27.65 with right endpoints and 22.62 with left. n = 50 gives 25.64 and 24.63. The exact value must not change with n.

Follow-up edit: "Add a second curve to choose from: y = x² from x = 0 to x = 2, with exact volume 32π/5 ≈ 20.11."

Physics prompts

4. The Doppler effect

Level: Medium (25 credits). Subject: Physics. Topic: Doppler effect

Grade 11 physics, the Doppler effect for sound. A siren drives along a road past a listener standing still. Sliders: siren frequency 200–1,000 Hz (default 440 Hz) and siren speed 0–60 m/s (default 30 m/s). Use 343 m/s for the speed of sound. Draw circular wavefronts bunching up ahead of the siren. Show the frequency heard while the siren approaches and while it moves away, from f′ = f·v/(v ∓ vₛ). Run, Pause and Reset buttons.

Check: the defaults give 482.2 Hz approaching and 404.6 Hz moving away. At 0 m/s both are 440 Hz; at 60 m/s, 533.3 and 374.5 Hz. The higher pitch must come first.

Follow-up edit: "Let the listener walk toward the siren at up to 10 m/s, using f′ = f·(v + v₀)/(v − vₛ)."

5. Stopping distance

Level: Medium (25 credits). Subject: Physics. Topic: Stopping distance

Grade 9–10 physics, stopping distance. A car brakes for a hazard on a straight road. Sliders: speed 20–120 km/h (default 50), reaction time 0.5–2.0 s (default 1.0 s) and braking deceleration 3–8 m/s² (default 7). Show thinking distance = v × reaction time and braking distance = v² ÷ (2a), with v in m/s, as a stacked bar, and plot total stopping distance against speed.

Check: 50 km/h gives 13.9 + 13.8 = 27.7 m. 100 km/h gives 27.8 + 55.1 = 82.9 m: double the speed doubles the thinking distance and quadruples the braking distance.

Follow-up edit: "Add a Wet road button that sets the deceleration to 4 m/s²." At 50 km/h the total should become 38.0 m.

6. Loop-the-loop

Level: Complex (80 credits). Subject: Physics. Topic: Energy in a vertical loop

Grade 11–12 physics, energy and circular motion. A cart starts from rest at height h and rolls without friction into a vertical loop of radius R. Sliders: h 10–40 m (default 30), R 5–15 m (default 10) and mass 100–500 kg (default 200). Use g = 9.8 m/s². Show energy bars, the speed and the normal force at the top of the loop, and a warning when the cart leaves the track. Run, Pause and Reset buttons.

Check: the defaults give 14.0 m/s and 1,960 N at the top. At h = 25 m (2.5R), the top speed is 9.90 m/s and the normal force is 0. Below that, the cart must leave the track. Doubling the mass doubles the normal force but not the speed.

Follow-up edit: "Add a friction slider and show the energy turned into heat as a third bar."

Before spending 80 credits, try the Loop track in the library's skate park. It may already cover your lesson.

Chemistry prompts

7. Burning magnesium

Level: Simple (15 credits). Subject: Chemistry. Topic: Reacting masses

Grade 9–10 chemistry, reacting masses. Magnesium burns in oxygen: 2Mg + O₂ → 2MgO. Slider: mass of magnesium 0.10–5.00 g (default 2.43 g). Use Mg = 24.31 and O = 16.00 g/mol. Show the moles of magnesium, the mass of oxygen used and the mass of magnesium oxide, to three significant figures, with bars for the total mass before and after.

Check: 2.43 g gives 0.100 mol Mg, 1.60 g of oxygen and 4.03 g of MgO. 1.00 g gives 1.66 g of MgO. The before and after bars must be equal.

Follow-up edit: "Add a percentage yield slider and show the actual mass of MgO collected."

8. Enthalpy of combustion

Level: Medium (25 credits). Subject: Chemistry. Topic: Enthalpy of combustion of alcohols

Grade 10–11 chemistry, enthalpy of combustion. A spirit burner heats 100 g of water in a copper can. Fuels: methanol (32.04 g/mol, −726 kJ/mol), ethanol (46.07 g/mol, −1,367 kJ/mol) and propan-1-ol (60.10 g/mol, −2,021 kJ/mol). Sliders: mass of fuel burned 0.20–1.00 g (default 0.50 g) and heat reaching the water 30–100% (default 50%). Show the temperature rise, q = mcΔT with c = 4.18 J/(g·°C), and the ΔH a student would calculate, next to the data-book value.

Check: ethanol, 0.50 g, 50% gives a rise of 17.7 °C and a calculated ΔH of −684 kJ/mol. At 100% it gives 35.5 °C and −1,367 kJ/mol. With equal masses, propan-1-ol gives the largest rise.

Follow-up edit: "Add a draft shield checkbox that raises the heat reaching the water from 50% to 70%."

9. Metallic unit cells in 3D

Level: Complex (80 credits). Subject: Chemistry. Topic: Metallic crystal structures

Grade 11–12 chemistry, metallic crystal structures. Rotatable 3D unit cells: simple cubic, body-centered cubic and face-centered cubic, with ball-and-stick and space-filling views. For each, show atoms per cell, coordination number and packing efficiency. Sliders: atomic radius 100–200 pm (default 128 pm) and molar mass 20–210 g/mol (default 63.55). Calculate the edge length and the density.

Check: 1, 2 and 4 atoms per cell; coordination numbers 6, 8 and 12; packing 52.4%, 68.0% and 74.0%. Face-centered cubic with the defaults (copper) gives an edge of 362 pm and a density of 8.90 g/cm³.

Follow-up edit: "Highlight one atom and its nearest neighbors in a different color."

The library's crystal lattices in 3D already shows body-centered and face-centered metals. Create this one only if you need the density calculation.

Biology prompts

10. The heart as a pump

Level: Simple (15 credits). Subject: Biology. Topic: Cardiac output

Grade 9–10 biology, the heart as a pump. Sliders: heart rate 40–200 beats per minute (default 70) and stroke volume 40–150 mL (default 70). Animate a heart beating at that rate. Show cardiac output = heart rate × stroke volume in L/min, and how many seconds the heart takes to pump the body's 5 liters of blood.

Check: the defaults give 4.90 L/min and 61 s. 150 beats per minute and 100 mL give 15.0 L/min and 20 s.

Follow-up edit: "Add Rest, Walk and Run buttons that set both sliders to typical values."

11. Capture–mark–recapture

Level: Medium (25 credits). Subject: Biology. Topic: Estimating population size

Grade 9–10 biology, capture–mark–recapture. A pond holds a hidden number of fish, chosen at random between 200 and 800 each time Reset is pressed. Students catch a sample (slider 20–100), mark the fish and release them, then catch a second sample of the same size. Show the number marked M, the second catch C, the marked fish recaptured R, and the estimate N = M × C ÷ R. Add a Reveal button.

Check: M = 40, C = 50 and R = 5 give 400. With 400 fish and samples of 50, R is usually around 6, so estimates jump between values such as 417 (R = 6) and 357 (R = 7). R = 0 must show a message, not a division error.

Follow-up edit: "Add a table that records each trial's estimate and the mean of all trials."

Earth science prompts

For these, choose Geography or Integrated Science as the subject.

12. Carbon-14 dating

Level: Simple (15 credits). Topic: Radiometric dating

Grades 9–12 earth science, radiometric dating. 1,000 carbon-14 atoms decay at random into nitrogen-14, with a half-life of 5,730 years. Slider: time since the organism died, 0–40,000 years. Show the percentage of carbon-14 left, a decay curve with each half-life marked, and an age calculator: students type a percentage and get t = 5,730 × log₂(100 ÷ percentage).

Check: 50% gives 5,730 years, 25% gives 11,460 and 10% gives 19,035. At 10,000 years, 29.8% remains; at 40,000, 0.8%.

Follow-up edit: "Add potassium-40, with a half-life of 1.25 billion years, as an option for dating rocks."

13. Locating an earthquake

Level: Medium (25 credits). Topic: Locating an earthquake epicenter

Grades 8–10 earth science, locating an earthquake. A map with three seismograph stations and a hidden epicenter. P-waves travel at 6.0 km/s and S-waves at 3.5 km/s. Each station shows a seismogram with the P and S arrivals. Students read the S–P lag Δt, calculate the distance d = 8.4 × Δt in km, and drag a circle of that radius around each station. The epicenter is where the circles meet. Add a Reveal button.

Check: 8.4 km/s comes from 6.0 × 3.5 ÷ (6.0 − 3.5). A 20 s lag means 168 km; 10 s means 84 km. All three circles must meet at the revealed point.

Follow-up edit: "Let me click the map to place the epicenter myself, so I can set exam questions."

Computer science prompts

14. Stacks and queues

Level: Simple (15 credits). Subject: Computer Science. Topic: Stacks and queues

Grade 9–10 computer science, stacks and queues. A stack (last in, first out) and a queue (first in, first out) side by side, up to 8 items each. A text box and buttons: Push, Pop, Enqueue, Dequeue and Peek. Animate items sliding in and out, highlight the item that will leave next, and show a message when removing from an empty structure.

Check: push 3, 7, 5, then Pop gives 5. Enqueue 3, 7, 5, then Dequeue gives 3. Pop on an empty stack shows the message, and a 9th item is refused.

Follow-up edit: "Add a Check brackets mode that uses the stack to test strings such as ( [ ] )."

15. Tower of Hanoi and recursion

Level: Medium (25 credits). Subject: Computer Science. Topic: Recursion: Tower of Hanoi

Grades 10–12 computer science, recursion. Tower of Hanoi with three pegs and a slider for 1–8 disks (default 3). Students drag disks; a larger disk can never go on a smaller one. A Solve button animates the recursive solution and shows the call stack beside the pegs. Show the move counter and the minimum number of moves, 2ⁿ − 1.

Check: 3 disks take 7 moves, 4 take 15 and 8 take 255. Solve must finish in exactly the minimum, and an illegal drag must be refused.

Follow-up edit: "Slow Solve to one move per second and highlight the recursive call that made each move."

Adapt any prompt

• Swap the details, keep the structure. Change the grade, a range or a default, then recalculate the check value before class.
• Close but not right? Press Customize with AI on a library simulation instead; see how to remix a library simulation.

Then attach questions and share the link like any other simulation; how to use interactive simulations in the classroom covers the lesson side.

FAQ

Can I write the prompt in another language?

Yes. Write it in any language you like, and choose the Language of the simulation separately. The AI writes all labels in the language you choose.

What if the check values don't match?

Send an edit with the inputs, the wrong value and the right one, for example "At 50 km/h the braking distance shows 178.6 m; it should be 13.8 m. Convert km/h to m/s first." Failed jobs refund their credits automatically.

Which level should I choose if I'm unsure?

Medium. Use Simple for graphs and single calculations, and Complex for 3D or models with several linked parts.