How to Create a Simulation for Your Lesson with AI

You can now create a simulation with AI for almost any lesson: describe what students should see and change, and a few minutes later you have a working interactive simulation in your own language. This guide walks you through the real steps in Simulic, shows how to write a description that gets a good result the first time, explains the three levels and what they cost, and covers editing by chat, checking accuracy before class, sharing with questions and remixing a library simulation. It ends with three full example prompts for physics, chemistry and math, and what to check in each result.

Before you start: library, remix or create?

The library already has 500+ simulations in math, physics, chemistry, biology, integrated science, computer science, geography, history and design & technology. Search it first. You'll usually land in one of three cases:

• A library simulation fits: use it as it is and share it. That's free.
• One is close but not quite right: remix it. Different numbers, a new context, extra labels or another language cost less than starting from scratch.
• Nothing fits: create a new one with AI. This is the right choice for a specific exam question, a local context ("our school's ski jump") or a topic the library doesn't cover yet.

What you need

• A free Simulic teacher account. Students never need one.
• AI credits. Credit packs are 200 credits for $10, 500 for $25 or 1,400 for $60, and credits last 24 months. Pro includes 200 credits every month. See pricing for the current options.
• A clear idea of what students should change and what they should observe. That matters more than anything else.

Step by step: create a simulation with AI

1. Go to Create (/app/create). The page is titled "Create a simulation with AI".
2. Choose a tier: Simple, Medium or Complex. Each card shows its price and how many free edits it includes.
3. What are you teaching? Pick the Subject, type a short Topic (for example "Newton's second law") and choose the Language of the simulation. The AI writes all labels and explanations in that language.
4. What should the simulation show? Describe the simulation in plain words. The example buttons (projectile motion, reaction rate, quadratic graphs, predator and prey) fill in a sample description if you want to see the expected style.
5. Click Create. The button shows the cost, for example "Create (25 credits)".
6. Watch the progress steps: Writing, Checking, Testing in a browser, Fixing problems if needed, then Done. This usually takes one or two minutes. Nothing is charged if the AI fails; failed jobs refund their credits automatically.
7. The simulation opens in the editor. Try it on the Simulation tab right away.

Your new simulation is private. Only you, and students with your links, can open it.

Which level should you choose?

Level	Cost	Free edits included	Good for
Simple	15 credits	5	A graph, a simple diagram, a basic parameter sweep
Medium	25 credits	5	Most classroom simulations: projectile motion, a titration, a simple circuit
Complex	80 credits	10	Detailed or 3D simulations, multi-step exercises, elaborate models

Start with Medium unless you're sure. Simple is fast and light on detail, which is fine for "plot y = a·sin(bx)" but thin for anything with moving parts. Complex is worth it for 3D, several linked screens, or a model where the reasoning is hard to get right.

A worked budget: a Medium simulation with its 5 free edits and 3 extra edits costs 25 + 3 × 2 = 31 credits. A 200-credit pack covers about eight Medium simulations with their free edits.

How to write a good description

The AI builds what you describe, so describe it like you would to a colleague building it for you. Cover six things:

1. Subject and level. "Grade 10 physics" tells the AI how much detail and which notation to use.
2. The system. What is on screen: "a wooden block on a ramp".
3. Variables students change, with ranges and units: "ramp angle 0–60°, friction coefficient 0–1, mass 1–10 kg".
4. What to show: readouts, graphs, arrows, a table. "Show the acceleration in m/s² and a velocity–time graph."
5. The model and its assumptions: "use g = 9.8 m/s², no air resistance, kinetic friction only".
6. Controls and behavior: "Run, Pause and Reset buttons; the block stays still if friction is large enough".

The form's own tip says it best: name the quantities students should change and what they should observe.

Compare two descriptions:

• Weak: "A simulation about friction."
• Strong: "Grade 10 physics. A block on a ramp. Sliders for ramp angle (0–60°), coefficient of kinetic friction (0–1) and mass (1–10 kg). Show the forces as arrows and the acceleration in m/s². Use g = 9.8 m/s². Run, Pause and Reset buttons."

The weak one forces the AI to guess, and you spend your edits correcting the guesses.

Editing with AI

The editor has an AI assistant next to the preview. Type what should change and click Send. The button shows the cost, and the panel shows how many free edits you have left.

• Once your free edits are used, each extra edit costs 2 credits.
• A Major rewrite rewrites the whole simulation instead of patching it. It costs 10 credits (30 for a Complex simulation). Use it only when the structure is wrong, not for small fixes.
• Every request creates a new version. Under Details, the Versions table lists each version and your request. Use this version takes you back if an edit made things worse.

Ask for one change per request, and be specific: "make the ball heavier" or "add a graph of velocity against time" works better than "improve it".

Check accuracy before class

AI output can be wrong. Before students see it, spend ten minutes testing like a skeptical student would:

1. Check one value by hand. Pick simple inputs and calculate the expected output yourself.
2. Test the extremes. Set every slider to its minimum and maximum. Watch for negative distances, objects leaving the screen or numbers that explode.
3. Check units and labels. Are they correct, consistent and in the right language?
4. Change one thing at a time. Does each slider change only what it should?
5. Check the reset. Does Reset really return to the starting state?
6. Try a phone. Students will open your link on small screens.

If something is wrong, describe the symptom and the expected value in an edit: "At 30° and μ = 0.2 the acceleration shows 4.9 m/s², but it should be 3.20 m/s²."

Share it with questions

Your simulation is shared like any library simulation. Click Share to create a link per class with pinned starting values, then post the link, show the QR code, copy the embed code, or use the Google Classroom and Microsoft Teams buttons.

On the Questions tab, attach a question set: short answer, multiple choice, or number questions that are checked with a tolerance, plus up to 3 prediction questions that students answer before the simulation unlocks. Your hand-checked values from the accuracy check make perfect number questions. The formative assessment guide has the details.

Happy with the result? Share to the public library sends it for review. Once approved, it's listed under its subject, marked Community and translated into the other languages, so other teachers can use it too.

Remix a library simulation

On any library simulation page, click Customize with AI: "Make your own version: change the numbers, context, language or labels". A remix costs 20 credits.

The form is shorter: there is no tier to choose. You confirm the subject, topic and language, then answer What should change? For example, open the simple pendulum below, click Customize with AI on its page and ask: "Use a heavier bob, add air resistance as a parameter, and show the energy bars." The remix becomes your own editable copy that you can keep improving by chat, and the original stays unchanged in the library.

Three full example prompts

Copy these, adjust the level and language, and check the listed values in the result.

Physics: block on a ramp (Medium)

Grade 10 physics, Newton's second law. A block slides down a ramp. Sliders: ramp angle 0–60° (default 30°), coefficient of kinetic friction 0–1 (default 0.2), mass 1–10 kg (default 2 kg). Show arrows for weight, normal force and friction. Show the acceleration in m/s² and a velocity–time graph. Use g = 9.8 m/s², no air resistance. If friction is large enough to hold the block, it stays still. Run, Pause and Reset buttons.

What to check:

• At 30° and μ = 0.2: a = 9.8 × (sin30° − 0.2 × cos30°) = 3.20 m/s².
• At μ = 0: a = 4.90 m/s².
• Changing the mass must not change the acceleration.
• At 30° the block should stay still once μ reaches tan30° ≈ 0.58. This prompt treats the same μ as holding the block, which is a simplification; mention it to students.

Before you spend credits, look at the library's Newton's second law simulation, which pulls a block across a surface with friction. If it is close enough, a remix may be all you need.

Chemistry: diluting a stock solution (Simple)

Grade 9–10 chemistry, preparing a solution by dilution. A volumetric flask and a stock bottle. Sliders: stock concentration 0.5–2.0 M (default 1.00 M), target concentration 0.05–1.00 M (default 0.250 M), final volume 50–250 mL (default 100 mL). Calculate and show the volume of stock and the volume of water needed, using C₁V₁ = C₂V₂, with three significant figures. If the target is higher than the stock, show a message that it is impossible.

What to check:

• With the defaults: 1.00 × V₁ = 0.250 × 100, so V₁ = 25.0 mL of stock and 75.0 mL of water.
• Stock 2.0 M, target 0.50 M, 250 mL: 62.5 mL of stock.
• A target above the stock concentration must show the message, not a negative volume.

Math: transforming a sine graph (Simple)

Grade 11 math, transformations of trigonometric graphs. Plot y = a·sin(b(x − c)) + d for x from −2π to 2π, with y = sin x as a dashed reference. Sliders: a from −3 to 3, b from 0.5 to 4, c from −π to π, d from −3 to 3. Show the amplitude, period, phase shift and midline as numbers. Label the x-axis in multiples of π.

What to check:

• b = 2 gives a period of π ≈ 3.14; b = 0.5 gives 4π ≈ 12.57.
• a = 3, d = 1 gives a maximum of 4 and a minimum of −2.
• c = π/2 shifts the graph right by about 1.57, not left. Sign errors in the phase shift are the most common AI mistake here.
• A negative a should flip the graph, while the amplitude stays positive (|a|).

FAQ

How long does it take to create a simulation?

Usually one or two minutes. The AI writes the code, checks it and tests it in a browser before it opens in the editor.

What happens if the AI fails?

Nothing is charged. Failed jobs refund their credits automatically, and you can try again with a clearer description.

Can I create a simulation in Spanish, French or another language?

Yes. Choose the Language of the simulation on the Create page, and the AI writes the labels and explanations in that language.

Do my students need an account or credits?

No. Playing is always free, and students open your link without an account. Credits are only used when you create, remix or edit.

Is the simulation scientifically correct?

Usually close, but not guaranteed. Always check a few values by hand and test the extremes before class, as described above.