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Discuss the material under the Science Concept and Teacher Text in
this lesson with the students. Make sure that each classmate has some
understanding of the Second Law of Motion discovered by Newton.
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Talk about safety in the classroom when doing any experiment.
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Divide the class into groups of 3. Have each group of 3 have their
own materials to do the experiment.
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The experiment: Take a ruler and pencil and place a coin on one end
of the ruler. (The pencil is used under the ruler in the center point
to create a seesaw.) Place the water bottle next to the ruler to use as
a measurer during the experiment. Each time the coin is dropped, it is
dropped the height of the water bottle so that there is the same distance
being used each time. Now drop a coin on the other send of the ruler.
The other coin already placed on the ruler will jump. Try again,
dropping the coin from the same height, but making it strike the ruler at
a greater distance from the pencil pivot. The first coin jumps higher.
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Because it falls from the same height each time, the coin strikes the
ruler with the same force. But it produces more force at the other end
if it hits the ruler at a greater distance from the pivot. This sends
the first coin higher in the air.
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Have each team member try the experiment several times dropping the
coin at different points on the ruler (but always from the same height).
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After everyone has had a turn, have a discussion of what has happened
in their experiment in relationship to Newton's Second Law of Motion.
Ask the older students to write a short paper about the experiment.
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