TOPIC: Principles of Flight: Newton's First Law of Motion
LEVEL: Beginner
"Animal Crash"
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- SCIENCE CONCEPT:
- Newton's First Law of Motion: objects at rest remain
at rest and objects in motion remain in motion unless acted upon
by an outside force.
- STUDENT OBJECTIVE:
- The student will discover a part of Newton's First
Law of Motion: an object at rest remains at rest unless acted upon by an
outside force.
- OVERVIEW:
- The student will use toys to discover that an object in motion
remains in motion unless acted upon by an outside force.
- TEACHER TEXT:
-
PREPARATION TIME: 5 minutes
LESSON TIME: 15 minutes
TEACHER PREP:
- Gather materials.
WORDS TO KNOW:
- push
- roll
- stop
- continue
- motion
MATERIALS NEEDED:
- toy dump truck or toy convertible
- stuffed animal that can be "seated" in the back of the truck or
front seat of the convertible
- brick or heavy textbook
- STEPS TO FOLLOW:
- Seat the stuffed animal in the back of the truck or front seat
of the convertible.
- Place the brick (or textbook) approximately 2" away from the auto.
- Give the auto a good push so that it will roll quickly toward
the brick (or text-book).
- Observe what happens when the auto hits the brick (or textbook).
(The auto will stop, but the stuffed animal will continue to
move forward through the air.)
- WHY?:
- Objects that are moving tend to keep moving unless acted upon by
an outside force. This is called inertia. It is part of Newton's
First Law of Motion. In this case, both the auto and stuffed
animal were in motion. The brick (or textbook) stopped the auto's
movement, but the figure was not connected to the auto and
continued to move forward.
- ASSESSMENT: Can the student communicate what they observed?
- 4.... The student is able to communicate that both the auto and
the figure were in motion. The brick acted on the truck to make
it stop, but the figure continued to move forward because objects
in motion tend to continue moving.
- 3.... The student is able to communicate that the figure continued
to move forward because objects in motion tend to continue moving.
- 2.... The student is able to communicate that the brick made the
figure fly off the auto.
- 1.... The student is able to communicate that the figure fell off
the auto.