Balloon Jet

SCIENCE CONCEPT:

Whenever any force is applied, an equal reaction force is always produced on the opposite direction. The first force is called the action and the second the reaction. Newton's Third Law of Motion states that is an object is pushed or pulled, it will push or pull to an equal extent in the opposite direction. We are used to seeing moving objects slow down and stop when the force pushing them is removed. There is a force-friction acting to slow moving objects. Remove friction and moving objects would continue to move without being pushed.

STUDENT OBJECTIVE:

The student will explore Newton's Third Law of Motion of action and reaction using a balloon, string, and a hollow pen case.

OVERVIEW:

In this activity, the student will tie a long length of string to a hook on the wall. Then, they will ask someone to pull the string tight and thread a hollow pen case on to it. Next, the student will blow up a balloon and, holding the neck so that the air does not escape, tape the balloon to the pen. Then, the student will release the balloon and watch what happens. The balloon flies away at immense speed.

PREPARATION TIME:

Variable

LESSON TIME:

25 minutes.

TEACHER PREP:

Gather materials for experiment. You will need balloons, string, hooks, and hollow pen cases.

WORDS TO KNOW:

action and reaction

exert

force-friction

laws of motion

TEACHER TEXT:

Whenever there is a force on one thing in one direction, another force is acting on something else in the opposite direction. This is Newton's Third Law. When a gun is fired, at the same time that the bullet shoots out of the barrel, the gun kicks back into your shoulder. Somebody pushing a person across the ice on a tray will find themselves falling backwards as the person on the tray sets off forwards.

Another example would be if you would place a high stool in front of a sofa. Take a cushion and sit on the stool with your back to the sofa and your legs drawn up (waist level). Throw the cushion forward as hard as you can. The stool tips over and you fall back into the sofa. This happens because as you exert a force on the cushion and throw it forward, the cushion exerts a force on you and pushes you backward. The first force is called the action and the second the reaction. Whenever any force is applied, an equal reaction force is always produced in the opposite direction.

Sir Isaac Newton's achievement was to bring together the significant discoveries made up until his time and to combine them into a unified picture of the universe. According to Newton, the universe ran like a clockwork machine governed by a few simple laws. Like, Galileo, Newton realized that mathematics was the language of science, and he formulated these universal laws of motion and gravitation mathematically. They describe how objects move when they are acted upon by forces.

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Last modified: Tue Mar 24 16:29:15 PST 1998