INVESTIGATING NEWTON’S LAWS OF MOTION
Name: ______________________
Date: ____________
Period____
NEWTON’S FIRST LAW
“An object at rest stays at rest and an object in motion stays in motion unless acted upon by an outside
force.” This is also called the Law of Inertia. Inertia means the resistance of an object to change in motion.
Penny on a Card Experiment
MATERIALS: a small plastic cup; an index card; a coin
METHOD/PROCEDURE:
1.
Put a playing card on top of the plastic cup
2.
Put a coin on top of the card
3.
With a sharp flick, hit the card out from under the coin! Or pull it really quickly toward you.
4.
Does the coin drop into the cup?
QUESTION: Which object has inertia? ___________________
Experiment further:
Use a sheet of printer paper with a few heavier (non-breakable) objects on it. See if you can quickly pull
NEWTON’S SECOND LAWAcceleration is produced when a force acts on a mass. The greater the mass (of the object being
accelerated) the greater the amount of force needed (to accelerate the object). [F=MA]
MATERIALS: 2 rulers; die/crumpled paper; paper cup; three objects of different sizes to role down the
ramp (e.g., 3 marbles/); tape
METHOD:
1. Build a ramp using a styrofoam cup and 1 ruler (use tape to hold the inverted cup in position]
2. Place a die or crumpled paper at the end of the ‘ramp’.
3. Place the second ruler at the end of the ‘ramp’ next to the die or crumpled paper
4. Roll a marble/small ball down the ramp so that it hits/moves the die/paper.
5. Note the distance it travels
6. Repeat the activity with the other two objects of different sizes
7. Record your observations
QUESTION: How did the size of the ball/marble affect the distance traveled?
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Experiment further: Go to the following website:
http://www.sciencekids.co.nz/gamesactivities/detectivescience/gravity.html
Learn about gravity, mass, weight, air resistance and forces while competing in a gymnastics
competition with a twist.
NEWTON’S THIRD LAW - Balloon Rockets
CONCEPT A rocket’s movement depends on Newton’s Third Law of Motion – For every action there is an
equal and opposite reaction. When a rocket blows out gas at high speed in one direction (action force),
the rocket is pushed in the opposite direction (reaction force). In other words, when there is a force on
one thing in one direction, another force is acting on something else in another direction. The gas pushes
against the rocket and the rocket pushes back just as hard against the gas.
OBJECTIVE: To have a balloon travel over a measured distance in the shortest possible time. The balloon
will be attached to a soda straw. The soda straw will have a length of string running through it. The
balloon will then travel along the string after being filled with air, and the air inside then being allowed to
escape.
MATERIALS Balloon; String; Stopwatch; Scissors, Tape and Meter Ruler
METHOD:
1. Thread the string through the drinking
2. Attach the string to one end of the classroom, as directed. Have a student to hold the other end of the
string
3. Blow up the balloon and firmly hold the end. (DO NOT RELEASE THE AIR).
4. Tape the long side of the balloon along the length of the straw.
6. Release the balloon and use a stopwatch to time how long it travels until it stops.
7. Use the meter ruler to measure the distance traveled by the balloon along the string (in centimeters).
Record your measurement in a suitable table.
8. Repeat the activity with the same amount of air (large balloon) three
more times.
9. Repeat the activity but this time only fill the balloon half full of air.
10. Calculate the average distance traveled and average speeds for each test.
Balloon Filled With Air
Trials
Distance Traveled (cm)
Time (seconds)
Average Speed
Balloon Half Filled with Air
Trials
Distance Traveled (cm)
Time (seconds)
Average Speed
QUESTIONS:
1. What is the action force in this investigation?
2. What is the reaction force in this investigation?
3. What happened when the amount of force (amount of air in the balloon) was changed?
4. If you put some coins onto the balloon to increase its mass, how would the results of experiment be
changed? Try it!