TOPIC: Principles of Flight: Newton's First Law of Motion
LEVEL: Intermediate

"Slight of Hand"

Soda Can

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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 a can of soda and a sheet of paper to discover that an object at rest remains at rest unless acted upon by an outside force.

TEACHER TEXT:

PREPARATION TIME: 5 minutes

LESSON TIME: 15 minutes

TEACHER PREP:

Gather materials.

WORDS TO KNOW:

MATERIALS NEEDED:

STEPS TO FOLLOW:

  1. Lay the sheet of paper on a clean dry table.
  2. Place the can of soda on one end of the paper. Make sure the can is clean and dry.
  3. Hold the other end of the paper and pull with a sharp jerk.
  4. Try this several times. Observe what happens. (Once you are able to pull the paper out with a level, fast jerk, the can will remain upright in the same place on the table.)

WHY?:

Objects at rest tend to remain at rest unless acted upon by an outside force. This is called inertia. It is part of Newton's First Law of Motion. In this case, the can was at rest on the paper. When the paper was jerked away with enough force this happened so quickly that the can remained at rest in the same place on the table since it was not attached to the paper

EXTENSION IDEAS:

Slight of Hand #2 & #3: Try this same experiment using a book or cup of water instead of a can of soda.

ASSESSMENT: Can the student communicate what they observed?

1....The student is able to communicate that the can was at rest and con- tinued to stay at rest when the paper was jerked away.

2....The student is able to communicate that the can stayed on the table when the paper was jerked away because it was heavy.

3....The student is able to communicate that the can didn't fall.

4....The student is able to communicate this was a magic trick.

Last modified: Sat Jun 7 11:55:29 PDT 1997

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