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 in motion remains in motion unless acted upon by an outside force.

OVERVIEW:

The student will use books and a chair or cart on rollers 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: 10 minutes

TEACHER PREP:

Gather materials.

WORDS TO KNOW:

• push
• roll
• stop
• continue
• motion
• inertia

MATERIALS NEEDED:

• 5 or 6 books
• chair or cart on rollers

STEPS TO FOLLOW:

1. Stack the books on the seat of the chair
2. Push the chair forward then stop the chair quickly
3. Observe what happens. (The chair will stop, but the books will continue to move forward through the air and then fall to the floor.)

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 chair and the books were in motion. Because the books were not attached to the chair, they continued to move forward when the chair was stopped. Weight finally made the books fall to the floor.

ASSESSMENT: Can the student communicate what they observed?

1....The student is able to communicate that both the chair and books were in motion. When the chair was stopped, the books continued to move forward because objects in motion tend to continue moving.

2....The student is able to communicate that the books continued to move forward because objects in motion tend to continue moving.

3....The student is able to communicate that stopping the chair made the books fall.

4....The student is able to communicate that the books fell off the chair.

Copyright © 1997 by Cislunar Aerospace, Inc. All Rights Reserved.