Teach Engineering
Physics Tug of War
Slide books with a little assistance from Newton. Using books, groups create a demonstration of Newton's Second Law of motion. Pupils compare the distance traveled by one and two books when they apply a force to them.
Exploratorium
Whack-a-Stack
Go wild as you hit a stack of wooden blocks to demonstrate Newton's first and second laws of motion. The blocks at the top of the stack stay put as you knock one at a time out of the bottom. Note, however, that you will need to...
Curated OER
Newton in Motion-Project
Students investigate Newton's Third Law of Motion. In this Newton's Third Law of Motion lesson, students explore the law in the real world. Students break down the definition for understanding and do an experiment using a balloon.
MENSA Education & Research Foundation
Roller Coaster Mania!
Raise the energy level of your physical science class with this exciting hands-on activity. Applying their knowledge of kinetic and potential energy and Newton's laws of motion, young engineers use foam tubing and marbles to create...
Sharp School
Newton’s Laws of Motion Project
After a review of all three of Newton's laws, physical scientists complete a choice project. They can create a book in which they collect pictures where the laws of motion are depicted, produce a PowerPoint presentation, or produce a...
Teach Engineering
Exploring Acceleration with an Android
Small groups use rubber bands to accelerate an Android device along a track of books. They collect the acceleration data and analyze it in order to determine the device's velocity.
NASA
Egg Drop Lander
You have to crack a few eggs to make a good engineer! Working in small groups, young scholars design, build, and test devices that protect an egg from breaking when dropped from a ladder.
Teach Engineering
The Great Gravity Escape
Groups simulate an orbit using a piece of string and a water balloon. Individuals spin in a circular path and calculate the balloon's velocity when the clothes pin can no longer hold onto the balloon.
DiscoverE
Air-Powered Mini Rocket
Does the position of the clips make a difference? The activity provides directions to build and test a paper rocket. Pupils attach paper clips to the rocket in different configurations and measure the distance the rocket flies each time....
It's About Time
Run and Jump
Has your class wondered how fast a human could run or how high they are capable of jumping? Help them understand these concepts as they explore acceleration and use an accelerometer to make semiquantitative measurements of acceleration...
Texas Instruments
Texas Instruments: Spring Thing: Newton's Second Law
In this activity, students' use a force sensor and a motion detector to collect force and acceleration data for an object moving up and down hanging from a spring. They use the data to test Newton's second law, and to estimate the mass...
NASA
Nasa: The Space Place: Build a Newtonian Physics Machine
Great hands on way to explain Newton's Second Law of Motion. Choose from three different Newtonian physics machines to build and test Newton's Second Law.
NASA
Glenn Research Center: Newton's Laws of Motion
NASA presents a concise explanation of Newton's three laws of motion. Click on the highlighted vocabulary to find more detailed and illustrated descriptions. Included is a link to a movie that shows how the laws of motion described the...
Exploratorium
Exploratorium: Science Snacks: Physics/mechanics (Force and Motion)
A collection of mechanics activities. Many pertain to Newton's laws of motion. Step-by-step directions provided with illustrations. Great for teacher demos or student projects.
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Catapults!
Students observe the relationship between the angle of a catapult (a force measurement) and the flight of a cotton ball. They learn how Newton's second law of motion works by seeing directly that F = ma. When they pull the metal "arm"...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Physics Tug of War
In this activity, students will learn about Newton's 2nd Law of Motion. They will learn that the force required to move a book is proportional to the weight of the book. Engineers use this relationship to determine how much force they...
University of California
Understanding Science: Newton's 2nd Law: Inquiry Approach Lesson
For this lesson, students develop their own scientific experiment to test Newton's hypothesis that the acceleration of an object depends on the net force acting upon it and its mass. After completing their designed experiment, students...
![Federal Aviation Administration: Anti Gravity Marble [Pdf] Activity](https://d15y2dacu3jp90.cloudfront.net/images/attachment_defaults/resource/large/FPO-knovation.png "Federal Aviation Administration: Anti Gravity Marble [Pdf] Activity")
Other
Federal Aviation Administration: Anti Gravity Marble [Pdf]
This experiment examines Newton's Second Law of Motion. Learn how centrifugal and centripetal force help to keep a marble in a can when turned upside down.
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Sliding Textbooks
In this culminating activity of the unit which highlights how forces play a role in engineering design and material choices, students explore and apply their knowledge of forces, friction, acceleration, and gravity in a two-part experiment.
Michigan Reach Out
Nasa: Soda Pop Can Hero Engine
Students explore all three parts of Newton's Laws of Motion by observing a spinning pop can.
Khan Academy
Khan Academy: Inelastic Collision Review
Review the key concepts and skills for inelastic collisions. Understand how to determine if a collision is elastic or inelastic.