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Explaining Motion Web Quest
What is meant by “explaining motion”? Your goal is to conduct the following web quest
to adequately answer this question.
Go to: http://csep10.phys.utk.edu/astr161/lect/history/newton3laws.html
1. State Newton’s Laws of Motion:
First Law of Motion
Second Law of
Motion
Third Law of Motion
2.
Click on the link Galileo within the text. Scroll down until you get to the heading, “Galileo and the Concept of
Inertia.” Describe Galileo’s explanation of motion and inertia.
Type your response here:
1
3. Describe Aristotle’s explanation for motion.
Type your response here:
4.
Why was Aristotle’s analysis incorrect? What was not taken into account?
Type your response here:
2
5. Go to the following web site: http://www.physicsclassroom.com/Class/newtlaws/u2l1a.cfm .
What is meant by balanced forces? Explain the diagram; that is, flow chart, below that explains the two
parts of Newton’s First Law of Motion.
Type your response here:
6. Select three (3) of the everyday applications that are given and explain what is happening using the law of
inertia.
Type your responses here:
1)
2)
3)
3
7. Go to the following web site: http://www.physicsclassroom.com/Class/newtlaws/u2l3a.cfm.
Explain the diagram; that is, flowchart for unbalanced forces.
Type your response here:
8. Write the algebraic equation that is used to represent Newton’s second law of motion. What is a ‘Newton’ of
force?
Type your response here:
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9. Go to the following web site: http://www.physicsclassroom.com/Class/newtlaws/u2l4a.cfm.
Complete the chart below:
Situation
Identify the action force.
Identify the reaction force.
Consider the
propulsion of a fish
through the water.
Consider the flying
motion of birds.
Consider the motion
of a car on the way to
school.
10. Checking Your Understanding:
a. While driving down the road, a firefly strikes the windshield of a bus and makes a quite obvious mess in
front of the face of the driver. This is a clear case of Newton's third law of motion. The firefly hit the bus
and the bus hits the firefly. Which of the two forces is greater: the force on the firefly or the force on the
bus or are they the same magnitude? Provide an explanation.
Type your response here:
5
b. For years, space travel was believed to be impossible because there was nothing which rockets could
push off of in space in order to provide the propulsion necessary to accelerate. This inability of a rocket
to provide propulsion is because...
i. ... space is void of air so the rockets have nothing to push off of.
ii. ... gravity is absent in space.
iii. ... space is void of air and so there is no air resistance in space.
iv. ... nonsense! Rockets do accelerate in space and have been able to do so for a long time.
Provide an explanation:
Type your response here:
c. Many people are familiar with the fact that a rifle recoils when fired. This recoil is the result of actionreaction force pairs. A gunpowder explosion creates hot gases which expand outward allowing the rifle
to push forward on the bullet. Consistent with Newton's third law of motion, the bullet pushes
backwards upon the rifle. The acceleration of the recoiling rifle is...
i. greater than the acceleration of the bullet.
ii. smaller than the acceleration of the bullet.
iii. the same size as the acceleration of the bullet.
Provide an explanation:
Type your response here:
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d. In the top picture (below), Kent Budgett is pulling upon a rope which is attached to a wall. In the bottom
picture, the Kent is pulling upon a rope which is attached to an elephant. In each case, the force scale
reads 500 Newtons. Kent is pulling...
i. with more force when the rope is attached to the wall.
ii. with more force when the rope is attached to the elephant.
iii. the same force in each case.
Provide an explanation:
Type your response here:
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