Newton’s Laws of Motion
Are you savvy on the laws of
motion? Play this jeopardy game
and find out.
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Which of Newton’s Laws explains
why Henry’s football will stay on
the ground until he kicks it.
A. Newton’s First Law
B. Newton’s Second Law
C. Newton’s Third Law
According to Newton’s First Law, objects
at rest, like the football, will remain at
rest until an unbalanced force is applied,
the kick.
Newton’s Second Law is about how force, mass,
and acceleration are related. The Second Law
would apply if the question asked you to
calculate how much force Henry would need to
apply to kick the football 30 yards for example.
The Third Law addresses action – reaction
pairs. Henry applies a force to the football
and the football applies a force back on
Henry’s foot. However, this does not
explain why the ball stayed at rest.
Superman is said to leap tall
buildings in a single bound.
Which of Newton’s Laws explains
why he would have to use more
force if he gained weight?
A. Newton’s First Law
B. Newton’s Second Law
C. Newton’s Third Law
Newton’s First Law explains that Superman will
stay on the ground until he applies a force to
propel himself upward. However, this law does
not explain why more force is needed.
Newton’s Third Law explains that when
Superman pushes down on the ground, the
ground pushes back on him, allowing him to fly
to the top of the tall building, but does not
explain why more force would be needed.
According to Newton’s Second Law, the
more mass Superman has, the more
force that it will take to accelerate him
upward.
The cardinals are competing against
the panthers in a game of volleyball
on the moon. A cardinal player hits
the ball with great force sending it
over the net. Which of Newton’s Laws
explains why the ball will continue
moving until a panther player hits it?
A. Newton’s First Law
B. Newton’s Second Law
C. Newton’s Third Law
According to Newton’s First Law, objects
in motion, the volleyball, will remain in
motion, at the same speed and in the
same direction, until acted upon by an
unbalanced force, the panther player.
Newton’s Third Law explains that when the
cardinal player applies a force to the volleyball,
the volleyball also applies a force back on the
player. This does not explain why the volleyball
would keep moving.
Newton’s Second law would explain why
applying a larger force to the volleyball would
cause it to accelerate a greater distance, but
does not explain why the volleyball would keep
moving.
Which of Newton’s Laws explains why
firefighters must apply a force to the
fire hose to prevent it from flying
backward when the water comes out?
A. Newton’s First Law
B. Newton’s Second Law
C. Newton’s Third Law
According to Newton’s Third Law, the
action of the water shooting forward out
of the hose would cause the reaction of
the hose moving backward. Therefore,
the firefighters must apply a force to
hold the hose in place.
Newton’s First Law explains that before the
firefighters turn on the water, the hose is at
rest and will remain at rest until a force is
applied to it. However, this does not explain
why the hose would move backward.
Newton’s Second Law would explain how
increasing the force of the water shooting
forward would increase the acceleration of the
hose backward, but does not explain why the
hose would move backward.
How did you do? If you got all the
questions right, good for you! Try
making up some of your own
questions for a friend. If you
missed a few, review the laws of
motion, and try again.