Tumbler's Seesaw

SCIENCE CONCEPT:

According to Newton, the universe ran like a clockwork machine governed by a few simple laws. Newton's Laws are formulated mathematically and they describe how objects move when they are acted upon by forces. Newton's Second Law of Motion defines what happens 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. A force acting on a moving object will speed it up, slow it down, or change the direction in which it is moving.

STUDENT OBJECTIVE:

The student will explore the motion of Newton's Second Law in relationship to a tumbler's seesaw and experiment with the action of the coin striking a ruler from the same height each time.

OVERVIEW:

In this activity, students will take a ruler and pencil and place a coin on one end of the ruler. (The pencil is placed under the ruler to create a seesaw.) Drop a coin on the other end of the ruler and see what happens to the coin that was previously placed on the other end of the ruler.

PREPARATION TIME:

5 minutes.

LESSON TIME:

20 minutes.

TEACHER PREP:

Gather the materials that are needed for the experiment. You will need a ruler, pencil, two coins, and a 16 ounce water bottle for each experiment.

WORDS TO KNOW:

force

stationary object

acceleration

change of direction

pivot

motion

TEACHER TEXT:

With simple devices like levers, we can use our strength to produce more force. A seesaw can be used to jump on at a sufficient distance from its pivot to produce enough force to hurl people in the air.

In this experiment, the coin falls from the same height each time, striking 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.

Newton's world of motion has become very real to us today because of his treatment of his findings. He explained them in mathematical terms so that universally all men can utilize his findings. Today, we take them for granted, but when Newton discovered them the world was amazed at his findings. He did not take full credit for his discoveries, but explained that others came before him that found things out about our universe that he was able to build upon.

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Last modified: Tue Mar 24 15:42:00 PST 1998