Dante Robinson
Physics Pd. 3
Alternative Assessment #2
Research how the work of scientists Antoine Lavoisier, Isaac Newton, and Albert
Einstein related to the study of mass. Which of these scientists might have said the
following?
a. The mass of a body is a measure of the quantity of matter in the body
b. The mass of a body is the body’s resistance to a change in motion.
c. The mass of a body depends on the body’s velocity.
a. Antoine Lavoisier(Law of conversion of mass/matter)
States that mass is neither created nor destroyed in any ordinary chemical reaction
The mass of substances produced(products) by a chemical reaction is always equal to the
mass of reacting substances.
b. Isaac Newton(Law of Inertia)
A body will preserve its velocity and direction so long as no force in its motion's
direction acts on it
Galileo used this law to explain why we do not feel the earth's motion, and especially
why objects falling on the surface of the earth move together with the earth
This explanation is related to the Law of Relativity, which is also based on the constant
acceleration of bodies
c. Albert Einstein(E=mc2)
Energy = Mass x Speed of Light
One of Einstein's great insights was to realize that matter and energy are really different
forms of the same thing. Matter can be turned into energy, and energy into matter.
Energy is a product of mass and velocity. With mass and energy being interchangeable,
mass is dependant on velocity
Information Gathered
a. Process of elimination to match opinion. Supporting information found by searching
“Law of Conversion of Mass” in Google. And finding link”
http://www.mi.mun.ca/users/edurnfor/1100/atomic%20structure/tsld004.htm
b. Opinion matched by prior knowledge. Supporting info found by searching “Law of
Inertia” in Google and finding link:
http://www.muse.tau.ac.il/museum/galileo/the_law_of_inertia.html
c. Opinion matched by prior knowledge. Supporting info found by searching “e=mc2”
into Google and finding link:
http://www.worsleyschool.net/science/files/emc2/emc2.html