SCIENCE CONCEPT:

Newton's Third Law of Motion: for every action there is an opposite and equal reaction.

STUDENT OBJECTIVE:

The student will experiment with Newton's Third Law of Motion.

OVERVIEW:

The student will use balloons to discover that for every action there is an opposite and equal reaction.

TEACHER TEXT:

PREPARATION TIME: 5 minutes

LESSON TIME: 15 minutes

TEACHER PREP:

Gather materials.

WORDS TO KNOW:

• squeeze
• balloon
• compressed
• push

MATERIALS NEEDED:

• two inflated and tied round balloons of the same size

STEPS TO FOLLOW:

1. Squeeze the two balloons together, but push with only one of them.
2. Do the balloons look any different?. (No. They both looked compressed: one for being the "pusher", the other for being "pushed".
3. Now, let go of the balloons all at once.
4. Observe what happens. (The balloons spring back into shape and push each other apart equal distances.)

WHY?:

Newton's Third Law of Motion states that for every action there is an opposite and equal reaction. In this case, although only one balloon is doing the pushing, the other balloon is "pushing" back at an opposite and equal force. When the balloons are released they push apart equal distances.

ASSESSMENT: Can the student communicate what they observed?

4....The student is able to communicate that the balloons push apart equal distances because for every action there is an opposite and equal reaction.

3....The student is able to communicate that the balloons push apart equal distances.

2....The student is able to communicate that the balloons pushed each other apart.

1....The student is able to communicate that the balloons fell apart.

CURRICULUM LINK IDEAS: