Conway's Game of Life
Classroom worksheet · Interactive simulation: https://lkforge.com/tools/physics/game-of-life/
Name: Date:
Learning objectives
- State the rules of Conway’s Game of Life.
- Observe emergent structures from simple rules.
- Classify patterns as still, oscillating, or moving.
Variables to change
- Starting pattern
- Grid size
- Speed
Procedure
- Draw a small starting pattern and step the simulation forward.
- Try a blinker, a block, and a glider and watch how each behaves.
- Experiment with random starts and look for emerging structures.
Observations
Classify each pattern you try as still life, oscillator, or spaceship, and note what emerges from random starts.
Questions
- State the survival and birth rules.
- What is a "still life"?
- What is a glider?
- Is the Game of Life random?
- What big idea does it illustrate?
Answer key (instructors)
- 1. A live cell with 2 or 3 live neighbors survives; a dead cell with exactly 3 live neighbors becomes alive; all others die or stay dead.
- 2. A stable pattern that never changes, such as a 2×2 block.
- 3. A small pattern that moves steadily across the grid ("spaceship").
- 4. No — it is fully deterministic; the next state follows exactly from the current one.
- 5. Emergence — complex, lifelike behavior arising from a few simple local rules.
Conway’s Game of Life evolves a grid by simple neighbor rules (survive on 2–3, born on 3). From these emerge still lifes, oscillators, and moving gliders — a classic demonstration of how simple deterministic rules produce complex, emergent behavior.