Newton's Laws of Motion

Harris, Wanda                 Raster Main Elementary School
                           

Objectives

To be able to state Newton's 1st,2nd, & 3rd laws of motion. 
To initiate an understanding in describing the principles and dynamics involved in 
   the Laws. 
To apply the laws to describe everyday occurances. 

Apparatus Needed

1 place setting for a table & table cloth toy dump trucks, marbles or standard 
weights, 1 cup, string, sand, and slingshots  (apparatus), stop watch, meter stick & 
tape 1 embroidery hoop, 1 cup or flask, and a coin 3 or 4 blocks of wood, 1 glass 2 
washers & parachute 1 mini trampoline Video recorder & television Video tape footage 
of baseball player sliding into base and of a rocket launching. Water rocket 

Recommended Strategies

Review how motion is relative and how it can be described and measured. 

Discuss forces and how they're described and measured.   

Place table setting on table cloth, ask students to guess what will happen.  Pull 
table cloth from under place setting, set embroidery hoop on cup - then place the 
coin on top of the embroidery hoop. Pull the hoop from under the coin.  Stack the 
blocks of wood on top of each other, then set the glass on top of the blocks.  Knock 
the bottom block from under the other blocks,demonstrating that an object will remain 
at rest until acted upon by an unbalanced force. 

Show video tape footage of a baseball player sliding into base. Play game Red Light 
Green Light. Pick three players, teacher stands in front and says green light (the 
students run as fast as they can to try to touch the teacher first); however, the 
teacher will say red light (the students must stop like a statue immediately) while 
turning around. If caught moving the student will have to return to the starting 
point.  The object of the game is to catch the child moving, therefore demonstrating 
that an object or mass in motion will stay in motion at a constant velocity until an 
external force acts on it. 

Measure one meter on a flat surface, then mark the beginning and the end of the meter 
with tape on the flat surface. Remove the meter stick. One piece of tape will be your 
starting point; the other piece of tape will be your stopping point. 

      Place one rubber band around the `slingshot'.
              Put the`slingshot' behind the beginning or starting point.  Place the 
              truck behind the starting point, but in front of the slingshot. Stretch 
              the rubber band back 2 in.  Release the rubber band so that it hits the 
              truck. Clock the time it takes the truck to travel 1 meter. 
      Now, place two rubber bands around the `slingshot':
              Repeat the previous directions.

      Now, place three rubber bands around the `slingshot':
              Repeat the previous directions.
Chart the data, demonstrating the relationship between mass, acceleration, and force. 

Take two washers of the same size.  Attach a parachute to one of the washers.  
Standing on desk, drop both washers at the same time.  Demonstrating the relationship 
the direction of a force has on the acceleration of an object.  

Have students jump up and try to stay up.  Then, jump up and down on the ground.  
Next, have the students jump up and down on a trampoline. 

View a video tape of the space shuttle launching.  Blast off a toy water rocket. 
Demonstrating that forces come in pairs, and for every action there is an opposite 
and equal reaction.