this is my problem...i am a special education teacher for a high school..my kids are about on a 7-9 th grade..For when we come back from x-mas break i would love to do Newtons 3 laws of motion...

On one of the kids IEP's it states when there is a force there is an equal and opposite force (something like that)...

I might as well do all the laws of motion (1st law, 2nd law, etc.)

I need to plan for a 80 minute block though...IT is a very long block>>>

I need to speak to them ,,,,then have them do an experiment of some sort (groups)

and then maybe some brainstorming....

My supervisor is yelling at me b/c i don't have them doing enough big group/small group activities
for ex. brainstorming as a class or having them do long enough experiments..

What I was planning on doing was haaving them do the first law of motion, explain what it is, read about it... explain it....have them do some type of experiment ( with a partner) and then have them stay with their partner and have them come up with their own experiment...but How?

Please..Please...Please...any suggestions would be appreciated on any websites,,,,any plans...any experiments...This is my tenure year and I really need to step it up a notch...thank you in advance to anyone who will respond to this
tracy

rudi_in

Thank you for posting your question to the Ask Me Help Desk.

WOW!

This question will require a big answer. I will make it out in three posts. One for each law.

Well, let's start at the beginning...

Newtons First Law

An object at rest will stay at rest and an object in motion will stay in motion until an outside force acts on it.

This law pretty much describes inertia as all objects will try to resist a change to what they are doing. While it may be difficult for your students to grasp this concept they should be quite familiar with its effects. Try to give them a few examples...

Ever been in a car and when it goes around the corner you like lean into the door? That is inertia. The car turns but the body wants to continue going straight. We also have seat belts so that our bodies do not continue to go forward after we slam on the brakes.

Baseball players have to round first base in a big circle because they cannot perform a 90° turn as the body resists that and the runner has to fight the tendency to continue forward and the result is a large arc towards second. That is inertia too.

The ol' yank the tablecloth out from under all the dishes trick is based on inertia. You can show this easily with a cup, index card, and a quarter. Put the card over the cup and the quarter on top of the card. Show them how if you move the card the quarter moves too. Then you can flick the card out from under the quarter or just pull it super fast and the quarter will fall in the cup.

Perhaps students can think of a few examples in everyday life where inertia is found themselves once they understand better what it is. They could get together and design some posters that illustrate Newton's First Law.

Another experiment they can try is with a ball about like a tennis ball. Have the students investigate what will happen when they stand in place and throw the ball straight up. It may take a few trials but they should discover that it comes back down to their hand.

Now they can walk at a steady pace and without changing speed or direction throw the ball straight up. Again it should land in their hand.

Have them continue to throw the ball straight up and give them some other directions such as break into a run, turn to the right, stop in your tracks, etc and have them determine where the ball lands. Have as many little things like this as you like then bring them together and discuss the results and help them connect it to Newton's First Law.

You may also want to put together a powerpoint with some information to provide another visual stimulus and give them a sheet with the notes and some words removed along with a word bank so they can fill it in as you go through the notes with them.

OK, on to Newton's Second Law...

rudi_in

Newton's Second Law

An unbalanced force acting on an object equals the object's mass times its acceleration.

Now hopefully you will have had some discussion on acceleration and what balanced and unbalanced forces are already.

Again, just as with Newton's First Law, students may not grasp this concept as it is written but they should be very familiar with the effects.

When they play catch with someone say with a baseball or football, the acceleration of the ball can change based on how much force they apply to it. The mass of the ball is not changing so a greater force will cause a greater acceleration and a weaker force will cause less acceleration.

You could have a tug-of-war as a group activity. Mix it up in our special way of course. Start with one on one with perhaps a bigger, stronger student on one side and a smaller, light person on the other. Tell the small student not to resist being pulled at first. Have the other student pull on the mass lightly enough just so the kid begins to move forward. Then place a second student on the rope on the small side and have the same student pull by himself. They should notice that it will take a greater force to move the greater mass or even that the same amount of pulling does not generate as much acceleration as when there was only one student to pull. Mix this up so that all students get to feel the change and when all heave tried they can make teams and really try a tug of war for fun.

Give them probing questions for what they think will happen when...

I swing a bat at a tennis ball and when I swing a bat at a bowling ball. -- The same strength of swing will cause greater acceleration in the tennis ball, obviously.

I run with an empty shopping cart and when I run with a cart full of bricks.

These things all have a connection with the second law.

Have the students make some posters that illustrate some ideas like these of their own about Newton's Second Law.

Again, use of powerpoint and note pages with word banks may be a great way to cover the lecture piece.

Then, of course, we have the math piece to this one.

Force = mass x acceleration
or
F = ma

You can also take many examples and add values to them. Students may then work the problems and see changes that way as well.

Be sure to give Force in newtons (N), mass in kilograms (kg), and acceleration in meters per second squared (m/s²).

OK, Now on to Newton's Third Law...

rudi_in

Newton's Third Law

For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.

Again, students may not realize it but they have experienced this everyday of their lives.

Blow up a balloon and without tying it, release it into the room. It will fly all over the place.
Why? Newton's Third Law explains this.

Sports provide a great example of this too.

When I kick a football, it moves forward based on the amount of force that I applied to it but that exact same amount of force is directed back to my foot as well. (The equal and oposite part). I can feel that. It is over time that our bodies take these types of forces and begin to develop injuries.

Swimming, rockets blasting off, cats jumping, and stubbing your toe on a chair are all things that can be explained by Newton's Third Law.

Please note though that equal forces do not always have an equal effect. Refer back to the second law an equal force on two different masses gives different acceleration.

In a car accident, both cars get damaged not just one - equal and opposite.

This is also a good time to review all of the laws with some type of visual lab exercise.

For example, place a book on the desk and ask which law best describes the book on the desk.

The answer would be the first law. It is an object at rest and it will stay that way until some outside force acts on it.

You could set up several examples such as this around the room and have students travel to each station to figure out which law is best represented. Using other students to act out different scenarios for some of the stations is great too.

Here is a site to find some good videos about science that the kids may enjoy and find connections to real life things.

ESPN Sports Figures

Don't forget the powerpoint and notes and to have the students create some posters illustrating Newton's Third Law using some of their own examples.

You could as a culminating activity have the students actually measure some forces required to do certain things using some spring scales. A fun one to do is to test the strength of a human hair.

As always, you can probably find some great ideas from the science teacher in your school. They would have some lab activities and worksheeets too. Be sure to check there as well.

When it is all over you should have a room decorated with posters of the kids' work depicting Newton's Laws at work in real life, and a group of kids who should have a better grasp on how this applies to their life.

Good luck to you!