This Page URL
http://www.can-do.com/uci/ssi2001/newtonsphysicsnb.html

UCI Summer Science Institute WebQuests - 2001
http://www-sci.lib.uci.edu/SEP/ssi2001/

UCI Science WebQuests from all years
 

Purpose
 

• Students will learn about Newton's Laws.
• Students will perform hands-on computer explorations and activities related to Newton's Laws, the physics of balls and ramps and amusement park physics.

• An internet connected computer.
• Internet and computer skills.
• Curiousity and imagination.
• Reading proficiency and comprehension skills.

1. Meet Sir Issac Newton

Sir Issac Newton is an important scientist who merged math and science to learn more about the way things in our world move. 

Click here to see a picture of him and read his biography. 

2. Explore Newton's First Law - The Law of Inertia

• Read Newton's First Law
• Find out what inertia is from Professor Parsons from Science Court.
• Go visit Science Court to read a comic, answer a quiz question and conduct some experiments about inertia.
• Need more information. This site gives you another explaination. 
• This animated movie shows how Newton's First Law applies to moving vehicles. Watch the ladder to see what happens to objects in motion.
• This simple demonstration shows how when a hammer falls the head keeps traveling toward the ground even after it hits. 
• This experiment with marbles that you can print out and do at home will demonstrate Newton's First Law

• Read Newton's Second Law
• Here is another explaination of Newton's Second Law.
• This interactive demonstration allows you to choose how much force you want to use to push an elephant. The higher the number you type into the box, the more force you are using. Pay special attention to the relationship between the force and how fast the elephant moves. That is Newton's Second Law at work.
• How does Newton's Second Law apply to a car. Drive this interactive car to see what happens as you give the car more gas and what happens when you try to stop.
• Do you like bumper cars? These will demonstrate how Newton's Laws predict which car will take the force of the hit.

4. Explore Newton's Third Law - The Law of Interaction

• Read about Newton's Third Law.
• Professor Parsons from Science Court explains gravity, weight and mass.
• Watch a movie to learn about gravity
• After watching the movie take the gravity quiz
• Print out this activity page to do on your own.
• Go visit Science Court to read a comic, answer a quiz question and conduct some experiments about gravity. You will need to use a calculator to help you multiply.

5. The physics of balls and ramps

• Bouncing Balls - this experiment looks at why some balls bounce more than others.
• Why do we use certain balls for certain games? Read a story about using a tennis ball to play baseball. 
• How Things Work - Bouncing Balls- Louis A. Bloomfield answers questions about balls for kids just like you.
• How does a ball move on a ramp when you make the ramp higher or lower and change the speed of the ball? 

Play this Ramp n' Roll game to find out.
• Do experiments with different sized and weight balls to see which travels faster or farther.

• How do rollercoasters work? Check this out.
• Build your own rollercoaster here and find out what an expert rider thinks of it.
• This rollercoaster building site allows you to change many different part of the coaster and see how the car will travel on it. Beware... if you get too extreme the car will fly off your track.
• Amusement Park Physics is a great site that allows you to learn how rollercoasters work and to build your own coaster and find out how safe and fun it would be. 
• Visit this site to learn all the details about your favorite ride and give your opinion about that coaster for everyone to read.
• Build your own rollercoaster with ramps, tubes, and tape. Have a friend take a "ride" on it by sending a ball through it.

• Use this dictionary to look up words you come across that you don't know.
• Use these words (force, motion, velocity, mass, density, acceleration, energy, newton, inertia, gravity, speed, time) to make a crossword puzzle using Puzzlemaker. You can copy the words from here and paster them into your puzzle setup.
• Here is a good physics glossary.