Sir Isaac Newton and his Laws of Motion Hunt

Directions: Use the links (blue underlined words) provided to find the answers to the questions. You might find my Getting Back Tips helpful.
Note: Many links in this project take you to web servers in Scotland. That may mean the pages load a bit slower. Be patient!

1. Newton's first law is......

Read the example given. Now write a different one of your own.

Friction plays an important role when you consider inertia. What is friction?

2. What is force?

What unit of measurement is used for force?

3. Is a force required to keep an object in motion? Explain your answer

4. What is Newton's second law

 5. If the same force is applied to two different objects, what will determine the difference in their motion?

 6. What happens to acceleration if you double the force being applied?

7. What is Newton's third law?

8. Make some scientific observations using this online Newton's Cradle. (Java must be enabled in your browser)

What happens when you set it to 1?

What happens when you set it to 2?

What happens when you set it to 3?

Predict what will happen when you set it to 4?

Make the change. Was your prediction correct? ____________________

9. Which law of motion applies?

a. Jen is stepping out of a boat on to a dock. She has one foot on the dock and one foot in the boat. No one holds on to the boat. It begins to move away from the dock. Jen's legs split wider and wider. Which law applies?

b. Jen is playing soccer. She kicks a goal from the 18 line with her left foot. Which law applies?

c. Jen is using her computer. She bumps her mouse. It falls off the desk. Which law applies?

d. Jen goes shopping at the grocery store. She notices that as she adds items to the cart it gets harder to push. Which law applies?

e. Jay is the defensive tackle on the football team. When he hits the other team's linemen, he bowls him over backwards. Which law applies?

f. Jay is in the lunch line pushing his tray along the tray ledge. He wants to hurry things, so he gives his tray a mighty push. John (who is 2 people ahead of Jay) sees his tray fly off the tray ledge and on to the floor. His buddy, Bits says, "Hey, that is a good example of ......"

g. The school has a magician give an assembly. He waves his hand over a table that has a tablecloth covering it. It is set with dishes and glasses. He suddenly yanks the tablecloth off, but all the dishes and glasses stay in place. Mike says, "That's magic!"

Dr. Farr, the physics teacher, says, "Actually, that is a fine example of Newton's ..... law!"

h. Jay drives his truck to football practice. He gives Jen a ride. The truck stalls in the parking lot. He gets out and pushes it, but it won't budge. He tells Jen to get out and help him push. They manage to push the truck into a parking space. (Thank goodness he is a tackle!) Which law applies?

What two factors changed in the truck question?

i. Mrs. O'Hora parks her brand new car on a slight slope. She leaves it in neutral gear and does not apply the emergency brake. Just as she opens the house's front door, she hears a Bang! Her new car is against a tree at the lower end of the driveway. Poor Mrs. O! Her car has $2000 in damage. She wonders, whatever happen to things at rest staying at rest?  (Let us not discuss what her husband wondered.)

j. Observe this Olympic competition video - Which law(s) applies?

Tackle one of Mr. Everly's fun physics worksheets

It's like Everywhere! This sentence uses physics vocabulary to explain something nonscientific.

There is considerable friction between Tom and his parents due to his inertia over mowing the lawn. His dad does not want to force him, but will in order to accelerate the completion of the project. His mom thinks Tom does not understand the gravity of the situation.

Explain it:

"If I have seen further than others, it is by standing upon the shoulders of giants." ~ Isaac Newton

Challenges:

Answer the challenge question at Science Court.

Complete the exercises on this web page http://www.easyphysics.net/ch4/ch4.htm

Do the problems here using the formula based on Newton's second law of motion. Write your answers here. Write your score!

Newton's Law of Motion at NASA | Explore NOVA Now's - The Elegant Universe - The Theory of Everything

Going, Going, Faster: The Science of Speed - An Electronic Field Trip | Balloon Rocket project

Fear of Physics - Physics explained finally

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2001 Cindy O'Hora, This hunt may be printed as is for individual use in a nonprofit setting.

Save a tree use a digital answer format - Highlight the text. Copy it. Paste it in a word processing document. Save the document in your folder. Answer on the wp document in an easily read, contrasting color or font. (No yellow, no Symbols, , font) Or perhaps you have the resources to record verbal answers. If you do, be sure to first read / record the question. Then record the answer immediately after it. Make Your Own Answer Sheet Form using Word Processing