Blow Football

SCIENCE CONCEPT:

When a force acts on an object the object accelerates in the direction in which the force is acting. A force acting on a stationary object starts it moving. And a force acting on a moving object will speed it up, slow it down, or change the direction in which it is moving. This is the Second Law of Motion discovered by Sir Isaac Newton.

STUDENT OBJECTIVE:

The student will explore how exerting a force on a ball by blowing air on it will start it moving and then when the other student blows on the ball in the opposite direction the ball will move in the opposite way.

OVERVIEW:

In this activity, the student will have one partner, a small ball and two straws. The children will be in pairs and kneel on the floor with a small ball in between them. Each child will have a straw and they will each blow on the ball through the straw from opposite sides of the ball. How far can you make the ball move? What will happen when you both blow at the ball at the same time?

PREPARATION TIME:

5 minutes.

LESSON TIME:

20 minutes.

TEACHER PREP:

Gather materials for the experiment. You will need small rubber balls and straws.

WORDS TO KNOW:

force

motion

acceleration

stationery

TEACHER TEXT:

Motion is the basis of the Three Laws of Newton. Over 300 years ago Isaac Newton worked out a set of rules that explain the way in which things move. These rules can apply to anything, even the most modern machinery. The world around us is never still. It is always in motion. Why do winds blow and rivers flow? Why do the sun and the moon move across the sky? Are all moving objects pulled or pushed along by forces?

Isaac Newton, in his discovery of the Three Laws of Motion, helped each of us to be able to understand the motion that is around us constantly. His success was due to his ability to think about what motion would be like without friction and without gravity. Most of the motions we find on earth involve friction. Friction occurs when two surfaces rub against one another. If you roll a ball slowly across the floor, the ball's speed decreases and eventually it stops. It stops because the friction between the ball and the floor pushes against the ball and reduces its motion.

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Last modified: Tue Mar 24 15:31:49 PST 1998