How do the laws of physics work in microgravity? Astronaut Mark Vande Hei explores Newton's third law of motion as part of the "STEM on Station" series. Learners then explore Newton's third law further by building rocket racers and racing them on a track. They collect and analyze data to understand how forces applied to objects with similar and different masses change what happens to the objects.

Concepts

space, space travel, space exploration, newton's third law of motion, newton's laws of motion, sir isaac newton, the international space station, force

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Additional Tags

science

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Instructional Ideas

• Flip the classroom by having pupils watch the video and make hypotheses about experiment at home
• Have scholars design an additional experiment to further test Newton's third law

Classroom Considerations

• Requires some materials many teachers likely do not have in the classroom
  

• This video is hosted on YouTube

Pros

• Provides a comprehensive handout for learners
• Activity is hands-on and makes connections to real life

Cons

• None

Common Core

RST.6-8.9