Guide - Newton's Laws of Motion

Discover how to use Strawbees to model and test Isaac Newton’s three laws of motion. Construct a mini ramp to observe a ball traveling along a track through three experiments. Collaborate with classmates to identify and describe the ways that this object traveling over a short chute demonstrates Newton’s laws in action.

Please note this resource was tailored for US schools and may require adjustments to suit UK schools.

🇬🇧 Teacher Notes

### Lesson Structure

When students go through this lesson in each section, the objectives they will learn are:

* **Imagine** – Discover how three laws form the basis for describing how all objects move.
* **Build** – Build a pyramid with a slope to test all three of Newton’s laws of motion.

Teacher Notes

Overview and Objectives

Materials

#### Teachers: Preparing Your Students (15 min)

When students begin the lesson, they start in [Overview and Objectives](#overview-and-objectives), then transition to this [Preparation](#preparation) section. Presented in their view is a vocabulary list of terms and infographics illustrating concepts across STEAM domains throughout this entire lesson.

There is an extra guide for preparing student readiness for their first engagement of new terms and content knowledge. Print or distribute the guide digitally. 

* Read through the vocabulary list. (5 minutes)
* Review Newton's laws of motion. Download the optional asset and share to students. (10 minutes)

#### Vocabulary (5 minutes)

This is the list of vocabulary terms used throughout the lesson. They will be in **bold** and listed throughout the different sections. Students can always revisit the vocabulary definitions with media and questions in the lesson. (5 minutes)

#### Newton's Laws of Motion (10 minutes)

Review the Newton's 3 laws of motions as they are briefly referenced in this lesson. There is an **optional** guide used as a printout or can be shared online to students before they engage this lesson. Download the optional guide. (10 minutes)

Preparation

### Sir Isaac Newton and the Laws of Motion

* Sir Isaac Newton was an important mathematician from England, who lived from 1642-1727.
    * Isaac Newton helped make many advancements in science and technology.
    * A large contribution to physics was three laws of motion that explain how everything moves.
* Newton’s First Law: Objects at rest remain at rest, and objects in motion remain in motion unless acted on by an **unbalanced** force.
    * **Inertia** is a property of objects to not change their motion, unless, of course, an **unbalanced** **force** acts on it.
* Newton’s Second Law: The **acceleration** of an object depends on the mass of the object and the force applied.
    * A hard push on an object will cause it to **accelerate** more than a light push.
    * An object **accelerates** when it changes its speed or direction.
    * The equation force = **mass** x **acceleration** is often used with this law.
* Newton’s third law of motion: For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.
    * When two objects collide, they each push back on each other.
    * Whichever object has less **mass** will have more change to its motion, or and sustain more damage.
    * This is because it is absorbing the same impact over a smaller **mass** than the larger object.

Out of all the listed objects, a bowling ball is the heaviest and when thrown hard will have more force than one thrown lightly, or smaller balls also thrown lightly.

Imagine

Build a pyramid base

Make top of pyramid

Attach to complete pyramid

Make the track then attach

Test the first law of inertia)

Test the second law of force

Test third law of action and reaction

NGSS

Florida - NGSSS

Build

References and Extra Resources

STEAM Classroom

United States

Apply Newton’s Third Law to design a solution to a problem involving the motion of two colliding objects.*

MS-PS2-1

Define a simple design problem reflecting a need or a want that includes specified criteria for success and constraints on materials, time, or cost.

3-5-ETS1-1

Generate and compare multiple possible solutions to a problem based on how well each is likely to meet the criteria and constraints of the problem.

3-5-ETS1-2

Plan and carry out fair tests in which variables are controlled and failure points are considered to identify aspects of a model or prototype that can be improved.

3-5-ETS1-3

Define the criteria and constraints of a design problem with sufficient precision to ensure a successful solution, taking into account relevant scientific principles and potential impacts on people and the natural environment that may limit possible solutions.

MS-ETS1-1

Evaluate competing design solutions using a systematic process to determine how well they meet the criteria and constraints of the problem.

MS-ETS1-2

Students develop, test and refine prototypes as part of a cyclical design process.

ISTE Students

1.4.c Innovative Designer

Students communicate complex ideas clearly and effectively by creating or using a variety of digital objects such as visualizations, models or simulations.

Intro: Newton’s Three Laws of Motion

Overview and Objectives

Lesson Structure

Overview