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Notetotheteacher:Thislessonplanworksespeciallywellformiddleschoolstudents,andpartsofitmay
alsobeusedforsomehighschoolclasses.Theunitismostappropriateforphysicalscience,oceanography,and
physics.Whilethelessonplanunitrequiresalotofteacherconfidence,youwillfinditaunitsuretobewell
receivedbyyourstudents.

Newton'sLaws
SUBTOPIC:DemonstrationofNewton'sThreeLawsofMotionandtheLawofGravitation
OBJECTIVES:
Thestudentswill:
1)giveexamplesofeachofNewton'sthreelawsastheyoccurineverydayexperiences
2)visualizeanddifferentiatethedifferencebetweenadirectproportionandaninverse
proportionusingtheformulaF=ma
3)understandhowthegravitationallawaffectsthetidesoftheearth
4)calculatetheactualgravitationalforcebetweenthesunandearthandthemoonandearthto
concludewhichhasthestrongerinfluence

BackgroundInformation
IsaacNewtonsummedupmotioninthreelaws.Todaywetaketheselawsforgrantedaswe
growupassumingtheyaretrue.Wedonotrealizethestrugglesscientistswentthroughin
attempttounderstandtheworldaroundthem.Thefollowingactivitiesusebrainstorming,
discussion,andsimplelabstoillustratethelaws.
Newton'sThreeLaws:
1)Anobjectwhichismovingataconstantvelocityoratastateofrestdoesnot
changeitsstateunlessaforceactsuponit.
2)Accelerationofanobjectincreasesastheamountofforcecausingthe
accelerationincreaseswhenmassisconstant.
3)Foreveryforce,thereisanequalandoppositeforce.
ACTIVITY#1:

Newton'sFirstLaw

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20min

MATERIALS:CHALKANDBLACKBOARD
PROCEDURE:

1)Brainstormeverydayexamplesofthefirstlaw.
2)Presentalecturetostudents,includingthefollowingnecessarybackgroundinformation:
JustpriortoNewton'stimeGalileohadworkedwiththeideaofacceleration.Galileocould
onlyguessabouttimesincepreciseclockshadnotbeeninvented.Thisiswhyherolledmetal
ballsdownsmoothramps.Sincehenoticedhowaballslowedwhenrollingacrossthefloor,
heconcludedthatfrictionwasthecause.Thusfrictionwasresponsiblefortheideathat
objectsinmotionnaturallycometorest.But'rest'isjustonekindofconstantvelocity.The
conceptofinertiaandNewton's1stlawemergedfromthisinsight.
3)UsesomeofthefollowingexamplestoexplaintothestudentshowNewton'sfirstlaw
occursineverydayevents:
a)carsuddenlystopsandyoustrainagainsttheseatbelt
b)whenridingahorse,thehorsesuddenlystopsandyouflyoveritshead
c)themagicianpullsthetableclothoutfromunderatablefullofdishes
d)thedifficultyofpushingadeadcar
e)lawnbowlingonacutandrolledlawnversesanuncutlawn
f)carturnsleftandyouappeartoslidetotheright
ACTIVITY#2:

RelationshipsinNewton'sSecondLaw
20minutes

MATERIALS:METERSTICKS,INDEXCARDS,TAPE,MARKERS
PROCEDURE:

1)Newton'ssecondlawdealswithF=MA.WhenwrittenA=F/Monseesthatthe
accelerationwillvarydirectlywiththeforceappliedandinverselywiththemassofthebody.
Sincestudentshavetroublewiththeseterms,asimplevisualaidcanhelpthem.
2)TakethreeindexcardsandwriteanA,F,andMonthem,andthentapetheFcardtoa
meterstickatthe50cmmarksothatithangsdown.NexttapetheAcardat0cmandtheM
cardatthe100cmmark.
3)Explaintothestudentsthatiftheforceisconstant(eitherflipthecarduporcoveritwith
yourhand),whenaccelerationincreases(raisethe0cmendofthemeterstickata30angle)
massmustdecrease.
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4)Notethatthe100cmendnowanglesdown.Thisshowsaninverseproportional
relationship.
5)Nowcovertheaccelerationcardwithyourhand.Whenforceormassincreasesor
decreasestheothervariablewilldothesame.Thisshowsthedirectproportionalrelationship.
6)Lastly,dothesamefortheMcard.
7)PluginnumbersandworkthroughsomesimpleF=MAproblems.
8)Usethemetersticktohelpvisualizewhattheanswerwillbe(greaterorsmaller).Finally
brainstormeverydayapplications,someexamplesarelistedbelow.
a)hittingabaseball,theharderthehit,thefastertheballgoes
b)acceleratingordeceleratingacar
c)Thepositioningoffootballplayersmassiveplayersonthelinewithlighter
(fastertoaccelerate)playersinthebackfield
d)aloadedversusanunloadedtruck
ACTIVITY#3:

ConstantForceIncreasesSpeed
25minutes

MATERIALS:SKATEBOARDANDSPRINGSCALE
PROCEDURE:

1)Haveastudentbringinaskateboard.
2)Haveonestudentstandontheskateboardatthefrontoftheclassandholdoneendofthe
springscale.
3)Anotherstudentshouldpullthefirststudentataconstantforceof10newtons.
4)Observethespeedofthestudentsastheykeeptheforceconstant.
5)Explainthatthisshowsthedirectrelationshipbetweenforceandacceleration.
ACTIVITY#4:

Newton'sThirdLaw
10minutes

MATERIALS:CHALKANDBLACKBOARD
PROCEDURE:

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1)Brainstormeverydayexamplesofthethirdlawwiththeclass.Listedbelowaresome
examples:
a)rocketsleavingearthmanyphysicistsofthenineteenhundreds(Goddard's
time)saidthatrocketscouldneverleavetheearth.Discusshowaspaceshipflies
inspace.
b)gunsbeingfireddiscusswhytheykickinproportiontothesizeofthebullet.
Whyisthestockoftheriflesolarge?Whatwouldhappenifthestockofa
shotguncamebacktoapointshape?
c)twocarshitheadon
d)astronautsinspace
e)poolorbilliards
f)jumpingoutofaboatontothedock
g)sprinklersrotating
ACTIVITY#5:

BalloonRaces
50minutes

MATERIALS:3LONGBALLOONS,1PLASTICSTRAW,60CM(ORMORE)OFFINEWIREOR
FISHINGLINE,TAPE,MODELAIRPLANE(BALSAWOOD),MARKER
PROCEDURE:

1)Havethestudentsfollowtheprocedureslistedbelow:
a)Blowupballoons,fastenthemwithrubberbands,andlabelthemA,B,andC.
b)TapethestrawlengthwisetoBalloonBandrunthewirethroughthestraw.
c)TapeBalloonCtothetopofthefuselageofthemodelairplane,placingthe
balloonopeningtowardthetailoftheairplane.
d)LoosentherubberbandonBalloonAveryslowlyandrecordthespeedand
directionofmovement.
e)Now,onBalloonB,haveapartnerholdeachendofthewirethroughthe
strawandkeepthewiretight.
Cuttherubberbandquicklyandobservetheballoon.Recordobservations.
f)Drawasketchshowingthedirectiontheairintheballoonmoved.Also,onthe
samesketch,drawadiagramofhowtheballoonmovedalongthewire.
g)TotestBalloonC,haveapartnerholdtheairplaneloosely.Cuttherubber
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bandasyourpartnerreleasestheairplane.Recordtheflight.Youmaywishto
stageolympictypecompetitionsbetweenlabpartners.
Hint:Trydifferentshapesofballoons.Elongatedshouldworkthebest.Alsoaroundtriprocket
couldbedesigned.

2)Havethestudentsanswerthefollowingquestions:
a)Describethereactionoftherubberbandwhenitwascut.
b)DescribetheflightofBalloonB.
c)WhatwastheforcethatmovedtheBalloonB?
d)WhydidBalloonBmovedifferentlyfromBalloonA?
e)WhydidBalloonBandBalloonCmovemorerapidlythanBalloonA?
f)StateNewton'sthirdlawandexplainhowthisactivityillustratesit.
ACTIVITY#6:

AReverseWorld
2030minutes

MATERIALS:PENCILANDPAPER
PROCEDURE:

1)Askthestudentstowritea2to3pagesciencefictionstorydescribingwhatdifferenceswe
wouldobserveiftheoppositeofNewton'sthreelawsweretrueonearth.Forexample,guns
wouldnothaverecoil,andacannon'smasswouldnothavetobegreaterthanacannonball.
Youwouldalsonotbepushedbackinyourseatwhenundergoingaccelerationinacar.
2)Asanalternative,youmaywishtodoaverbalbrainstormingofhowthingsonearth
wouldbedifferentifwelivedunderthereverseofNewton'slaws.
ACTIVITY#7:

WhatReallyCausestheTides
35minutes

MATERIALS:CHALKANDBLACKBOARD

BackgroundInformationforActivity
Thegravitationalforceofthemoonandsunplayanimportantroleinthetides.Whenthe
sun,earth,andmoonareinastraightline,theircombinedgravitationalpullcausesextrahigh
andlowtidesknownasspringtides.Wheneverthereisafullornewmoonthisoccurs.The
neaptidesformwhenthesun,theearth,andthemoonformarightangle,causingahalf
moon.Thequestioniswhich,thesunorthemoon,hasthestrongergravitationalpull?
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PROCEDURE:

1)UsingNewton'sgravitationalformula,havethestudentsresearch(homework)thedata
neededanddoaclassprojectattheboarddoingthecalculations.
2)Dependingontheabilityofthestudents,eachstudentmaydotheirowncalculations.
MassofEarth5.98x1024Kg
MassofSun1.98x1030Kg
MassofMoon7.36x1022Kg
DistanceEarthtoSun1.50x1011m
DistanceEarthtoMoon3.84x108m
F=Gm1m2whereG=6.67x1011m3
d2Kgsec2

1)SuntoEarth
F=6.67x1011m3x1.98x1030Kgx5.98x1024Kg
Kgsec2(1.55x1011m)2

F=3.51x1022m/sec2

2)MoontoEarth
F=6.67x1011m3x7.36x1022Kgx5.98x1024Kg
Kgsec2(3.84x108m)2
F=1.99x1019m/sec2
2)Explaintothestudentsthatthesun,therefore,shouldhavegreaterpullingpower.Thetidal
bulgeproducedbythesunis46%ofthatproducedbythemoon.Thetidesareprimarily
causedbythegravitationalpullofthemoon.Besidestheoceantides,themoonalsocauses
tidesinthesolidbodyoftheearthasmuchas25cm.Theseearthtidesareveryhardto
observeordetect.Thewateronthesideoftheearthnearthemoonispulledtowardthemoon
withagreaterthanaverageforce,thewateronthefarsideispulledwithalessthanaverage
force.Inaddition,therotationoftheearthhelpsraiseatidalbulgeonthesideawayfromthe
moon.Thus,twobulgesappearinthewateronoppositesidesoftheearth.Tidalbulgesoccur
3aheadofthelinewhichrunsbetweenthecentersoftheearthandthemoon.
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Thepullbetweenthesunandtheearthisabout180timesstrongerthanthepullbetweenthe
moonandtheearth.Soourcalculationsarecorrect,butwhydoesn'tthesuncausetides180
timesgreater?Becauseofthesun'sgreatdistancefromtheearth,thereisnotmuchdifference
inthedistancesfromthesuntotheearth'snearandfarside.Thismeansthatthereisnot
muchdifferenceinthegravitationalpullofthesunontheoceannearestitandontheocean
furthestfromit.Therelativelysmalldifferenceinpullsontheoppositesidesoftheearth
onlyslightlyelongatestheearth'sshape.Thusthesunproducestidalbulgeslessthanthoseof
themoon.
Thetiltoftheearthalsoaffectstides.Thetiltcausesthe2dailyhightidesexperiencedin
mostpartsoftheoceantobeunequalinheight.
ACTIVITY#8:

AdditionalGravityCalculationforHonorsStudents
5minutes

PROCEDURE:

1)SinceJupiteris7.8x1011mfromthesunandhasamassof1.8x1027Kg.Havethe
studentscalculateJupiter'sgravitationalforce,anddetermineifthesunproducestideson
Jupiter.
F=6.67x1011m3x1.98x1030Kgx1.8x1027Kg
Kgsec2(7.8x1011m)2
F=3.9x1023m/sec2
ACTIVITY#9:

ShapeoftheEarth
15minutes

MATERIALS:WATER,SMALLROUNDBALLOONS,ANDSTRING
PROCEDURE:

1)Demonstratetheshapeoftheearthbyfirstfillingaballoonwithwater.Itmightbebestto
considerperformingthisoutside,intheeventthattheballoonbreaks.
2)Next,tieitshutandattachastringsecurely.
3)Swingtheballoonaroundoverheadandobservetheshapeoftheballoon.Itshouldlook
elongated.
4)Explainthatthisisthesameprocesswhichoccursonearthwhileitisrotatingaroundthe
sun.Thewatercoveringtheearthisdistortedandwillbulgeliketheballoon.
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5)ReadaboutthedebateovertheshapeoftheearthbetweenthefollowersofNewtonand
thoseofDescartesinTomB.Jones,TheFigureoftheEarth,1967.
ACTIVITY#10:

WhyBarbieWearsaSeatBelt
30minutes

MATERIALS:2CARTS,2PULLEYS,2HOOKMASSHOLDERS,2BARBIES,STRING,2
BLOCKSOFWOOD(2X4X8")
PROCEDURE:

1)PlaceaBarbiedolloneachcart.Ononeofthecarts,usearubberbandtosecurelyattach
theBarbie(seatbelt).
2)Attach2metersofstringtoeachcart.Attach200g.tothehookmassholder.Attachthe
pulleystothetableedge.
3)Placeablockofwoodinfrontofthepulleyandplacethestringoverthepulley.
4)Nowattachthemassholdertothestringwhilesomeoneholdsthecartinplace.
5)Pullthecartsbackandallowtheweighttoacceleratethecarts.
ACTIVITY#11:
InertiaisNuts
30minutes

MATERIALS:500MLFLASK,8INCHEMBROIDERYHOOP,101/8INCHNUTS
PROCEDURE:

1)Balanceanembroideryhoopverticallyontheflask'smouth.
2)Stacknutsonthetopofthehoop.Usingonehand,snatchthehoopawayquicklysothat
thenutswillfallintotheflask.
3)Havestudentsperformtheactivityandcreateacontesttoseewhocangetthemostnutsat
onceintotheflask.
4)RelatethistoNewton'sfirstlawandthefamousmagician'sactofpullingthetablecloth
outfromunderthedishes.

Bibliography
Hewitt,PaulG.ConceptualPhysics.
Jones,TomB.TheFigureoftheEarth.1967.
JonesandChilders.ContemporaryCollegePhysics.
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Ross,DavidA.IntroductiontoOceanography.

BACKHOME

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