Swing and Jump

SCIENCE CONCEPT:
Newton's First Law states that an object not being pushed or pulled by a force, will either stay 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 a constant speed or to remain stationary is called inertia.
STUDENT OBJECTIVE:
The student will discover a part of Newton's First Law of Motion using a swing on a playground. The student will experience that an object in motion remains in motion unless acted upon by an outside force.
OVERVIEW:
In this activity, the student will feel inertia first hand. The student will sit on a swing and swing gently and not too high. Then, in a mid-swing the student will jump off and try to stand still. The student cannot stand still when they jump off, but they have to run forward or they will fall down. This is inertia.
 PREPARATION TIME:
5 minutes.
LESSON TIME:
15 - 25 minutes.
TEACHER PREP:
Locate a swing and oversee the experiment for safety.

WORDS TO KNOW:

  • swing
  • high
  • jump
  • continue
  • motion
  • inertia

TEACHER TEXT:

The role of inertia is a very important part of motion. It says that an object in motion will tend to stay in motion, and an object at rest will tend to stay at rest, unless a force is applied to the object. When the children use the swing to demonstrate inertia they experience how their motion when jumping off the swing continues even after they try to stop. They have to run when they jump from the swing or they fall down. There are numerous ways to demonstrate inertia in our everyday lives. Think of a ball that you role down a hill. If the hill was high enough and long enough the ball would keep rolling once you pushed it down the hill. That is the fascination with Newton's Laws of Motion. If we could create a perfect environment to test his laws, we would be amazed at the outcome.

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Last modified: Tue Mar 24 15:03:21 PST 1998

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