Lesson Plan Two: Newton s Laws of Motion Kelly Lamey Anna Wetherholt

Transcription

1 Lesson Plan Two: Newton s Laws of Motion Kelly Lamey Anna Wetherholt Learning Objectives Students should classify and recognize phenomena as one of Newton s Three Laws of Motion. Assessment Criteria Students classify the cork on string as an example of inertia. Students classify the magic coin as an example of inertia. Students classify the standing long jump as an example of inertia. Students classify the balloon activity as an example of equal and opposite reaction. Students classify the box activity as an example of objects of greater masses requiring more force to move the object. Students recognize that the activities can be examples of other laws as well. Benchmark/Standard/Big Idea: Explain and demonstrate how forces affect motion (e.g., action/reaction, equilibrium conditions, and free-falling objects). - Illinois State Board of Education Standards; 12.D.3a Prior Knowledge: Prior to the lesson, students should be familiar with Newton s three laws of motion, as they have spent 4 days prior focusing on each of the three laws. Instructional Strategies: For this lesson, the students will work on group based activities to assess, evaluate and analyze phenomena and categorize them under the three laws of motion discovered by Isaac Newton. They will observe physical events, answer questions and have small group discussions. Instructional resources used: Cox, C. (2001). Isaac Newton Olympics. Science Scope, 24(8), Materials and set-up needed: -Masking tape -Markers/Pens/Pencils -Rulers with metric measurements -Balloons for each student -Several plastic cups -Water -Several pennies -Two cardboard boxes, one with books inside, preferably wrapped so they look identical

2 -Index Cards -3 or 4 Corks with string threaded through it (pre-made) Time required: 1 Class Period Cautions: When students are rotating through the stations there are a number of cautions that should be taken. For station 1: Students should all stand behind the masking tape line as each student jumps so as not to jump on top of one another. Students should do this jump clear of tables, chairs etc. so as not to injure themselves. Students should take care when jumping. For station 2: Students should not point their balloons at classmates. Caution students with latex allergies not to perform this event. Students should not chew on or play with balloons in their mouths. For station 3: Students should not swing the cork above their head as the cork will go flying across the room and potentially hit an unsuspecting person otherwise. If necessary, safety glasses can be used to protect student eyes. However, because no sharp objects are being used in the making of the cork on a string, safety glasses should not be needed. For station 4: There are no dangerous components with this station. For station 5: There are no dangerous components with this station. Instructional Sequence: 1. Introducing the lesson As students walk in, Bugler s Dream (the Olympic anthem) will be playing, which should get them curious as to what will be happening that day in class. We then introduce Olympic concepts to the students by posing the question: How many of know what the Olympics are? (Expect some students to raise their hands, some not). Then pose the question: for those who know what the Olympics are who can explain what they are? Anticipated student answers: It s a competition that happens every 4 years. Athletes compete against each other. They win medals. After students have an idea of what Olympics are, tell students that we are having our own version of the Olympics today called the Isaac Newton Olympics. Each activity that they will be doing involves at least one of Newton s Three Laws. Have students name the three laws and give examples of each type for a brief review, and leave answers on the board for students to refer to when needed throughout the period. Tell students that they will actually be competing, and that Ms. Lamey and Ms. Wetherholt will decide the winner, and the class will find out the winner the next day. Have a brief discussion of what good behavior would look like for this activity, and inform students that behaviors will be taken into consideration for the winner. 2. Body of the Lesson Students will be split up into groups of 3 with one or two groups at each station. There will be four stations where students will perform activities, make observations and answer questions. Station 1: Standing Long Jump At this station, students will stand behind a masking tape line and make their best jump. Their teammates will measure the distance of their jump in centimeters. Each group member should jump two times and record the results of each attempt and they will mark each jump with a small piece of masking tape with their initials written on it.

3 Station 2: Balloons At this station, students will blow up a balloon, hold it closed with their fingers, choose a direction to point the end of their balloon, count to three and then release their balloon. The students will observe what happens. Station 3: Cork on a String Students sit on the floor and then pick up the empty end of the string. The cork should be below their hand, and students gently twirl the cork at a medium speed. Students watch closely as they let go of the string. Students repeat this 2 more times. Station 4: Magic Students put the card on top of the cup. The card should be resting on top. The student then places a penny on the card. The student quickly pulls the card straight out, and the penny should fall into the cup. Students have opportunity to practice doing this, and then they have the opportunity to see how many pennies they can get into the cup. Station 5: Heavy Lifting Students will each push two boxes from a start line to a finish line and observe the different forces that it requires to move the boxes from the start to the finish. One box will contain several books; the other box will be relatively empty. As the students go around to each of the stations and perform the activities at each station, they will answer questions on a worksheet as a group. We will float around the classroom keeping students on task and answering questions. 3. Wrap up lesson Students will be asked to clean up their work areas and return to their desks. We will remind students that everyone s names be put on the paper so that we can determine the winners of the Isaac Newton Olympics. If time, we will have a brief discussion about the different laws of motions that they saw in each activity. Finally, we will collect their group worksheets as they leave the classroom. 4. Evaluating Learning Student assessment is ongoing as each group progresses through the stations and answers each of the questions on the activity worksheet questions. Some of these questions require students to use their critical thinking skills. For each of the stations students will have to answer a question of this type, asking them to analyze the activity and relate it to a particular law of motion. Design Rationale Students have been doing 4 days worth of Newton Law Activities. This lesson falls at the end of their brief mini-unit on Newton s Three Laws, and the activity provides the students an opportunity to review, analyze, and classify instances of Newton s Three Laws in practice. While the students could just watch a YouTube video of examples of each law, the hands-on activity that is presented as a competition allows the students to engage in physical manipulation of the three laws. By providing this opportunity, students are more likely to remember the three laws of motion. By structuring this as a competition, students are more likely to stay on task, and because students know that good behavior is a component of deciding who wins, students are also more likely to behave when handling the manipulatives. Students also work in groups of 3 to minimize inter-group distractions and have the students maintain focus better throughout the lesson. Because of less students in the group, the students will be able to handle the material more readily and not have downtime to play around.

4 Isaac Newton Olympics! Name: Period Station 1 1. Would you rather jump from a standing position or jump with a running start? Why? 2. What is the name of the tendency for your body to stay in motion through the air? 3. What force brought you back down? 4. Which of Newton s Laws are we looking at? Station 2 a. Newton s 1 st law: Your body is going to keep moving unless something makes it stop moving. b. Newton s 2 nd law: It takes more force to move heavier people. c. Newton s 3 rd law: When your body pushes against something it gets pushed back in the opposite direction equally hard. 1. In which directions did the balloons go? 2. In what direction did the air go?

5 3. What specific law of motion does this show? Circle one answer. a. Newton s 1 st law: The balloon is going to keep moving unless something makes it stop moving. b. Newton s 2 nd law: It takes more force to move heavier balloons. c. Newton s 3 rd law: When the air in the balloon pushes against the balloon it gets pushed back in the opposite direction equally hard. Station 3 1. What happened when you let go of the string? Why? 2. Did the cork fly off in the same direction every time? 3. A cork whirling on a string is kept moving in a circle by force. What is providing the force that pushes the cork out of its straight-line path? 4. What caused the cork to stop moving in a circle? 5. What specific law of motion does this show? Circle one answer. a. Newton s 1 st law: The cork is going to keep moving unless something makes it stop moving. b. Newton s 2 nd law: It takes more force to move heavier corks. c. Newton s 3 rd law: When cork pushes against the balloon it gets pushed back in the opposite direction equally hard. Station 4 1. What happened? 2. Where does the coin tend to fall?

6 3. What specific law of motion does this show? Circle one answer. a. Newton s 1 st law: The penny is not going to move unless something makes it move. b. Newton s 2 nd law: It takes more force to move heavier pennies. c. Newton s 3 rd law: When a penny pushes against something, it gets pushed back in the opposite direction equally hard. Station 5 1. What was different when you pushed the boxes from the start line to the finish line? 2. What specific law of motion does this show? Circle one answer. a. Newton s 1 st law: The boxes are not going to move unless something makes them move. b. Newton s 2 nd law: It takes more force to move heavier boxes. c. Newton s 3 rd law: When boxes push against something, they gets pushed back in the opposite direction equally hard.