Running Stop

SCIENCE CONCEPT:
Sir Isaac Newton's First Law of Motion states that an object not being pushed or pulled by a force, will either stand still or keep moving in a straight line at a steady speed. The tendency of an object to remain moving in a straight line at constant speed or to remain stationary is called inertia.
STUDENT OBJECTIVE:
The student will discover a part of Newton's First Law of Motion in this activity. When the student runs in a straight line they will keep moving even when they try to stop. This is called inertia.
OVERVIEW:
In this activity the student will start running in a straight line and then try to stop suddenly at a designated spot (think of the game red light/green light). The student will discover that after they have started moving that they will continue moving, even when they try to stop. (They may stop their feet, but their upper body will continue to move forward).
 PREPARATION TIME:
5 minutes.
LESSON TIME:
15-20 minutes.
TEACHER PREP:
Locate a running space for the children.
WORDS TO KNOW:
  • run
  • stop
  • line
  • continue
  • motion
  • inertia
  • drag


TEACHER TEXT:
In Newton's First Law of Motion it states that if an object is already moving, no force is needed to keep it moving. It will continue to move unless some force acts on it. In the case of the children running, they will continue running until their force of stopping is applied. Even when they come to a stop their upper body will continue to move forward. This is called inertia.

However, in most real situations, some force is needed to keep an object moving because there is always some drag or friction that acts to slow an object down. An outside force is needed to overcome the friction. Newton was able to imagine a perfect environment without any friction. He separated the action of friction from that of other forces.

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Last modified: Tue Mar 24 17:27:35 PST 1998

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