Stage 5: Motion of Objects (Laws of Physics)

Force, Mass and Acceleration

“describe the relationship between force, mass and acceleration”

“explain the relationship between distance, speed and time”

“relate acceleration to a change in speed and/or direction as a result of a net force”

“analyse everyday situations involving motion in terms of Newton’s laws””

Notes

Activity/Resource	Notes
[Numeracy] Speed Calculation	Simple calculations in relation to speed (can look at simple problems) Should include practice with converting between units (e.g. km/h and m/s – make sure students can do step-by-step conversion)
[Literacy] Interpreting Speed Time Graphs	Students qualitatively describe the motion of an object (e.g. a car) using a speed-time graph Example context: Sports video (car racing, football, soccer) – discuss approximate speed of players/cars
[Numeracy] Speed Time Graphs	Students graph s-t for uniform and non-uniform linear motion Note: demonstrate the steps needed to make an accurate graph, including: determining the independent and dependent variables, constructing the axes and providing appropriate labels and scale, plotting points, and applying line of best fit Alternatively (or in addition), use this as an opportunity to teach students how to graph using spreadsheets
[Practical] Average Speed	Students perform a practical investigation on the oval to calculate the average speeds of students walking, jogging and sprinting Alternatively – use toy cars/other objects and use camera to record accurately (would need a ruler in the background) Additional Research Task – RADAR, GPS, and speed detectors
[Practical] Air Resistance	Students compare the rate that a variety of objects (e.g. leaf, ball, book) fall from a given height, relate to air resistance If access is available, students could experiment with dropping objects of different mass
[Practical] Inertia	Students investigate inertia in the following contexts: Car acceleration (passengers) Going around a corner (car) Stirring coffee/tea then stopping
[Video] Crash Test Dummies	(Available online on Youtube) Use to discuss forces/motion
[Practical] Newton’s 2nd Law of Motion	Balloon rocket – attach different masses to the balloon, observe and describe any changes in motion
[Numeracy] Practical] Newton’s 2nd Law of Motion	Students perform calculations using Newton’s 2nd law of motion (F=ma)
[Discussion] Forces Acting on a Body	Students push against the wall/table with hands, what do students experience? Discuss – forces come in pairs (e.g. push down on ground with feet, ground pushes up on feet)
[Literacy] Which Laws of Motion?	Given different scenarios, identify which Laws of Motion are involved: Cars, people walking/running, horse/car racing, skating, skiing, other sports, accidents, air bags, seatbelts
[Literacy] Label Forces	Students label pictures/diagrams with arrows (with specific force labelled) E.g. bike, object on table, pushing a rock, parachute, kicking a ball Weight, support/contact force, air resistance, pulling & pushing force, frictional force
[Video] Misconceptions About Forces	Veritasium. (2011). What is a force? [Video]. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GmlMV7bA0TM Veritasium. (2011). What forces are acting on you? [Video]. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aJc4DEkSq4I Veritasium. (2011). How/Why does the Earth spin? [Video]. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9zso7ChaQXQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TQxeutcYP6I   Veritasium. (2012). Misconceptions about falling objects [Video]. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aRhkQTQxm4w Idea for activity – dropping two objects and asking students to explain which ball reaches the ground first (and why) Note: requires understanding of inertia; more ‘correct’ understandings (e.g. about why the Earth spins) require a lot more research/physics ideas In general, Veritasium’s early videos dealt a lot with misconceptions about Newton’s Laws of Motions (and other physics related stuff) – useful as starting points for discussion/activities
[Practical] Friction	Get students to compare rubbing their hands together versus rubbing their hands on smooth/rough surfaces (which provides more resistance?) Lead into research/investigation into factors that affect friction/resistance
[Literacy] Brainstorm	Simple activity – students brainstorm what they know about motion, speed and distance (can include mathematics here) This would be ideal as a beginning vocabulary activity – introduce the concepts of displacement, velocity, acceleration and gravity (as well as their relevant units), as well as remind students about the distinction between mass and weight
[Practical] Car and Ramp	Requires: small toy cars (e.g. Matchbox, Hot Wheels), a ramp, and a ruler Students investigate the effect changing the angle of the ramp has on the distance the car travels (Can incorporate ICT here) Alternatively, can use ball bearings (rolling down a track and off a ramp into a sand box)
[Research] Isaac Newton	Specifically, his Laws of Motion Further research could be directed towards Aristotle and Galileo Galilei
[Digital] Motion and Forces	Scootle resources about measuring motion, effects of forces, and friction
[Digital] Newton’s Laws	Scootle resources about Newton’s three laws of motion, weight, friction, the normal force, and centre of mass (as well as additional material, e.g. about frames of reference)
[Practical] Newton’s 1st Law	Spinning Top – discuss what is needed to make it move, what causes the top to slow down, and what would happen if the top was in a frictionless environment (e.g. space/vacuum) Coin on top of a basketball in a circle – can students hit the ball in such a way as to knock the coin OUT of the circle? Explain why or why not. Tablecloth trick – demonstration of inertia (more details available online, e.g. on Steve Spangler Science), activity suitable for group discussion
[Practical] Stopping Distance	What has more inertia – a truck travelling at 60kph, or a car travelling at 60kph? Which takes a greater amount of force to stop? Students can investigate the relevance of stopping distance in different contexts, e.g. school zones, driving while intoxicated, car accidents Can also supplement this activity with applets, e.g. ‘Give me a brake‘ (from Scootle)
[Video] Understanding Car Crashes	IIHS. (2020). Understanding car crashes: It’s basic physics [Video]. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2XKOzibVqJg Video that covers inertia, momentum, and other related concepts in the context of car crashes (students can watch the video and takes note/answer a worksheet as a homework task)
[Research] Car Collisions and Car Safety	Students identify car safety features that have been developed to reduce the effect of car collisions/crashes on the driver and passengers (e.g. seat belts, ABS, crumple zones) This task can be extended into a broader research task concerning general car developments (e.g. hybrid or electric cars)
[Practical] Collisions	Can investigate collisions in different contexts, e.g. billiards