Interactive mathematics and physics

Understand why it works, not only how to use it.

Mathematics and physics explained by moving the idea yourself. Predict, see, check, and review just before you would forget.

Calculus preview · try itDrag the orange number

On f(x) = x², the secant from x = 1 to x = 1 + has slope 2.800.

Drag the orange number left, toward 0, and watch the slope.

How it works

Every lesson moves the same way

Short steps, each with one thing to try and one question. The next step opens once you've answered, so nothing is skimmed.

1Move it

Each idea starts as something to drag: a point, a number, a solid to turn. Formulas come after you have seen it happen.

2Predict

Commit to a guess before the answer appears. The measures stay hidden until you have.

3Check

Type an answer in any equal form. A wrong one gets feedback on that exact mistake, and hints come in three steps.

4Review

Topics come back as they start to fade, with new numbers each time, further apart as you get them right.

Course map

Start from what you are studying

Every course is a map of topics and what each builds on. Search for "similar triangles", jump straight to it, and see which earlier topics it leans on. The map fills in as you learn, and fading topics glow until you review them.

Open the Geometry map →
3.34.15.15.25.3
Questions

Before you start

The short answers. Everything else is in the FAQ.

What is ConvergerLab?

A website of interactive mathematics lessons. Each lesson is a short run of steps: you move the idea in a live lab (a figure to drag, a solid to turn, a number to scrub), predict what will happen, then check an answer. The aim is to understand why a result is true, not only how to use it.

What can I learn right now?

20 courses, each one whole, in mathematics and physics:

Mathematics: Geometry, AP Calculus, Linear Algebra, Multivariable Calculus, Differential Equations, Probability and Statistics, Discrete Mathematics.

Further mathematics: Real Analysis, Complex Analysis, Abstract Algebra, Numerical Methods, PDEs and Fourier Analysis.

Physics: AP Physics 1, AP Physics 2, AP Physics C: Mechanics, AP Physics C: Electricity and Magnetism, Vibrations and Waves, Relativity, Quantum Physics, Statistical Physics.

Most have an extended track, such as Honors in Geometry or BC in Calculus, shown when the course map's switch is on. The courses page says what each covers.

What do I need?

A laptop or desktop computer with a keyboard and a mouse or trackpad, and a current version of Chrome, Edge, Firefox or Safari. Lessons are laid out for a large screen, with the reading and the lab side by side.

How do I type an answer, and which forms count?

Type a number or an expression; a preview shows it typeset as you go. Any equal form counts: 3/4, 0.75 and 6/8 are all right. You can write

  • fractions and powers: 3/4, x^2
  • roots: sqrt(2), 2sqrt(3)
  • π as pi or π: 4pi
  • functions: sin(x), ln(2), e^(-t)
  • angles in degrees where a question asks for them, with or without the sign: 72 or 72°
  • complex numbers with i: 3 + 4i, -1/2 + sqrt(3)/2*i
  • permutations in cycle notation: (1 3 2)(4 5)

A product can skip the *: 2x and 3(x + 1) work. A vector or a matrix gets a box for each entry, and a question with a unit shows the unit beside the box.

How does review work?

A finished topic comes back the day after, then further apart each time you get it right, and sooner when you don't. The timing follows FSRS, a spaced-repetition scheduler that estimates how likely you are to remember each topic.

A review session takes up to eight topics that are due, most overdue first, with two new problems each. A topic is graded Good if every problem was right at the first try, Hard if one came right after a miss, and Again if one never came right.

All questions →

Try one lesson and see how it feels.

Parallelograms, in a few short steps: drag the corners and watch which measures never change.