Newton's Laws of Motion Newton's Laws of Motion

Newton’s Laws of Motion
1
Name
_______________________________
Period
________________________
Now,
most
folks
know
Newton
for
discovering
gravity,
which
is
said
to
have
happened
when
a
falling
apple
hit
him
on
the
head.
But
Newton
also
laid
down
the
laws
of
the
physical
Universe
and
not
only
did
he
write
the
laws
themselves,
but
he
also
figured
out
how
they
worked
and
why.
Let’s
try
to
figure
them
out
ourselves
as
well!
Law 1: Inertia
An object sitting still will ________ that way until something else (a
__________) ___________ it. Likewise, an object that is moving will
_________ moving until something else (a ________) ________ it.
Activity: To move or not to move?
1) Give
an
example
of
an
object
in
the
classroom
that
remains
at
rest.
What
could
cause
it
to
move?
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Part
I
‐
Objects
at
rest
_
_
_
_
that
way
unless
acted
on
by
an
outside
_
_
_
_
_.
Observation:
Watch
the
frictionless
puck
move.
1) What
happens
when
the
frictionless
puck
is
pushed?
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2) Did
the
frictionless
puck
ever
stop?
If
so,
why
did
it
stop?
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3) Explain
how
the
frictionless
puck
could
go
on
forever
if
there
was
nothing
blocking
its
path.
This
is
the
same
reason
spaceships
can
sail
through
space
forever
in
one
direction
without
ever
stopping!
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Part II – Objects
in
motion
_
_
_
_
that
way
unless
acted
on
by
an
outside
_
_
_
_
_.
Conclusion
That's
what
you
call
Inertia!
If
you're
hanging
out
on
the
couch
watching
TV,
you're
probably
not
likely
to
budge,
nor
will
the
TV,
unless
something
like
a
bulldozer
or
an
earthquake
(outside
forces)
makes
you
move.
Likewise,
if
you're
catching
a
wave
or
coasting
downhill,
you're
going
to
keep
on
going
until
the
wave
crashes
(an
outside
force)
or
you
crash
into
an
obstacle,
like
maybe
a
rock
or
wall
(an
outside
force).
What’s
this
got
to
do
with
me?
Newton’s
first
law
can
be
seen
all
around
us.
You
can
use
the
law
to
figure
out
simple
things
like
if
an
egg
is
cooked
or
raw.

It
can
also
help
explain
things
that
happen
to
us
every
day,
like
what
happens
during
a
car
crash.
Observation:
Watch
the
car
safety
video.
1) What
happened
when
the
car
crashed
into
the
wall?
__________________________________________________________________________________
2) Why
should
people
wear
seatbelts
while
in
the
car?
(use
Newton’s
1 st 
law
to
explain)
__________________________________________________________________________________
2

Activity:


Now
try
the
same
idea
with
the
penny
on
an
index
card.
Who
can
get
the
most
pennies
in
the
cup
without
picking
up
or
grabbing
the
index
card?
Hypothesize
and
Experiment
Come
up
with
your
own
way
of
getting
the
penny
into
the
cup
without
picking
up
or
grabbing
the
index
card.
Best
methods
will
compete
for
a
prize!
1) What
was
your
method
for
getting
the
penny
into
the
cup?
Explain
how
it
worked
using
Newton’s
first
law.
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
Law 2: =
The amount of ________ something has depends on how big it
is (______) and how fast it is ________ (__________).
Hypothesis:
What
will
happen
when
a
heavy
ball
hits
a
light
ball?
What
will
happen
when
a
light
ball
hits
a
heavy
ball?
1) What
happens
when
the
two
balls
hit
each
other?
Explain
what
happened
to
the
smaller
ball
using
force,
mass,
and
acceleration.
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
3
x
?

Newton
in
Sports
Just
standing
there,
a
pro
basketball
player
is
not
exhibiting
much
force.
Sure
he's
huge,
lots
of
mass,
but
he
isn’t
moving
‐
no
acceleration.
But
have
this
same
basketball
player
run
at
you
at
full
speed
and
what
do
you
think
will
happen?
Conclusion
Fill
in
the
blanks
using
your
observations
from
the
ball
collisions
and
when
two
basketball
players
run
into
each
other.
1) Now
suppose
we
have
two
football
players.
One
is
very
strong
and
has
been
playing
for
a
long
time.
The
other
one
is
smaller
and
hasn’t
been
playing
long,
but
really
wants
to
help
his
team
win.
If
these
two
are
running
toward
each
other
and
want
to
make
a
tackle
(the
force
is
the
tackle)
what
will
the
smaller
football
player
have
to
have
more
of
than
the
big
guy
in
order
to
make
the
tackle?
Yes,
speed
or
acceleration!
Hey
Coach!
2) Let’s
say
you’re
the
football
coach
for
the
smaller
player.
How
much
acceleration
do
you
need
your
player
to
have
to
stop
the
larger
player?
The
larger
player
has
a
mass
of
136
kg
and
an
acceleration
of
0.5
m/s 2 .
The
smaller
player
has
a
mass
of
108
kg.

(Remember,
forces
must
be
balanced!)
No
force
4
Still
vs.
Charging
Answer
=
Large
force

What’s
this
got
to
do
with
me?
Now
use
your
new
Newton
skills
to
try
and
hit
all
the
targets.
Keep
in
mind
the
force
and
acceleration
you’ll
need
to
achieve
to
get
the
marshmallow
to
the
right
distance.
Activity:
Marshmallow
Puff
Gun
1) What
did
you
try
to
get
the
marshmallow
to
hit
the
first
target?
Draw
the
marshmallow’s
first
position
in
the
tube.
__________________________________________________
2) Explain
why
the
marshmallow
flew
farther
in
the
second
position?
Draw
the
marshmallow’s
second
position
in
the
tube.
(Use
Newton’s
2 nd 
law
to
explain)
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
3) What
did
you
have
to
do
to
get
the
marshmallow
to
the
last
target?
Draw
the
marshmallow’s
final
position
in
the
tube.
______________________________________________
______________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
Can
you
hit
the
targets?
Hypothesis
Fill
in
the
chart
below
with
what
you
tried
to
hit
the
targets
that
are
2,
4,
and
6
meters
away.
Target
Distance
 Force
needed
(S,
M,
L)
F
=
m
x
a,
must
be
balanced!
Mass
(Change/No
Change)
 Acceleration
(S,
M,
L)
2
m
4
m
6
m
5

4) What
worked
in
your
strategy?
(use
Newton’s
2 nd 
law
to
explain)
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6
Let’s
wrap
it
up!
That’s
it!
Newton’s
three
laws
may
seem
complicated
at
first
but
they
are
real
simple
once
you
see
them
used
all
around
you.

Let’s
review.
1. Objects in motion (or at rest) stay that way unless acted on by an
outside force.
2. Force equals mass times acceleration, or F=ma.
3. For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.
1.
Honeywell
International
Inc.
Copyright
2009
and
NASA
2.
Exploratorium:
Science
Snacks