Inertia - Coin in Cup (Rena Benor)
Author
Rena Benor
Principles Illustrated : Inertia
Object at rest stays at rest
Object at rest stays at rest unless acted upon by an outside force.
Standards
PHYSICS1.b Grade Nine through Twelfth:
Students know that when forces are balanced, no acceleration occurs; thus an object continues to move at a constant speed or stays at rest (Newton’s first law).
Questioning Script
Prior knowledge & experience:
Tower of blocks will topple when one is pulled out from below.
Root question:
What will happen to the penny when the card is pulled away?
Target response:
The penny stayed in place and then fell into the cup, because it acted in accordance with the First Law of Inertia; “An object at rest will remain at rest until acted upon by an outside force”.
Common Misconceptions:
Most students will predict that the coin will slide off with the card and go flying.
Coin and tumbler
a Place the coin on the card, and place the card over the open end of a beaker.
b Flick the card away sharply and observe the effect of the coin's motion.
References
Nuffield Foundation IOP Institute of Physics
Practical Physics, Inertia experiments
YouTube : http://youtu.be/nslpjejWlLE
Related video, tablecloth pull: http://youtu.be/POfoWEaUOKI