arrow_back Bouncing Sprites

One way to call attention to a sprite is to make it move.

In this video, you will animate a sprite to make it bounce.

By doing this, you will call attention to actions people can take to protect the environment.

Select a sprite to program.

This example uses the “G,” but use any sprite you like.

Next, program the sprite to move up.

Select the “motion” menu.

Click, hold, and drag out a “Change Y by” block.

Click the block to see what it does.

Wow! Each click moves the letter up.

Next, program the sprite to move down.

Drag out another “change y by” block.

Change the value to negative 10.

Click the block.

Awesome! Each click moves the sprite down.

If you click these blocks repeatedly, the sprite looks like it is bouncing.

Next, program the computer to run these blocks in order.

Attach the blocks, and click to run.

Nothing happened?

The computer runs these blocks so quickly, you can’t see the sprite move.

To fix this, code the sprite to “wait” between actions.

Select the “control” menu, and add a “wait” block between the two “change y by” blocks.

Click to try it out.

Great!

The letter bounces once.

Next, program the computer to repeat this action.

Select the “control” menu.

Click, hold, and drag out a “repeat” block.

Place it around the block stack, and click to run.

The sprite bounces, but not smoothly.

Add a “wait” block after the “change y by negative 10” block to make the sprite wait between moving up and moving down.

To change how the sprite bounces, tinker with the values in these code blocks.

For example, to make the sprite bounce faster, change the value in the “wait” block to a smaller number.

To make it to bounce higher, change the values in the “Change y by” blocks.

To make it to bounce more, change the value in the “repeat” block.

Add an event to tell the computer when to run this code.

This example uses a “when this sprite clicked” block, but you can use any event you like for your Earth Day logo.

You could run this code when you press a key, for example, or click the flag.

To copy this code to other sprites, click, drag, and drop the code onto another sprite.

Click the sprite to check that it copied correctly, and run the code.

Copy this code to as many sprites as you like.

Now it’s your turn: Select a sprite to program.

Add “change y by 10,” “wait,” and “change y by negative 10” blocks.

Add a “repeat” block around this stack.

Add an event, like “when this sprite clicked.”

Copy this code to as many sprites as you’d like.

Once you finish these steps, return to this page to select another video.