Purpose: To introduce, explore and offer an explanation of Newton's three laws of Motion and the universal law of gravity. Students apply their knowledge to design an apparatus that will protect an egg dropped from a window and present their findings in an engaging multimedia format.
Let's modify that scene by considering what would happen if a student stood on a chair and dropped a raw egg (sealed in a zip locked plastic bag of course) on your teacher's head. Would it break if it was dropped from any height? Does the egg's weight and/or mass matter? Does a raw egg always break when dropped? We will experiment and see what happens...
Sir Isaac Newton introduced the world to the Universal Law of Gravity and to Newtons three Laws of Motion which help us to explain the answers to these questions and many others related to the way things move.
By the end of this quest you will:
These tasks will be accomplished in part through the use of internet websites, virtual simulations and interactive games. Have fun exploring and learning!
Web Questions...
Before you begin exploring Newton's Laws, you must first understand why you are here on Earth, literally. Why don't we float around as if we were in outer space? And how does this fellow, "Newton" relate to gravity with having a unit of force named after him. You will accomplish this through some online research and interplanetary simulations as you record your responses on your worksheet under task one.
Create your own solar system and see how gravity works
You will begin by learning about Newton's 1st law of motion, the Law of Inertia. You will discover what inertia is and how it affects motion. This will be done through the use of the following online sources and activities as you continue to record your responses on your worksheet under task two.
You will learn about Newton's 2nd law of motion, exploring how force, mass, and acceleration relate to each other. You will use these online activities and record your results on your worksheet.
Force, mass and accleration simulation
You will learn about Newton's 3rd law of motion, exploring how it works in action. You will use these online activities and record your findings on your worksheet.