NASA
Christa's Lost Lesson: Newton’s Laws
How do the laws of motion work in space? Learners explore Newton's laws of motion in different experiments as part of the Christa's Lost Lessons series. They rotate around the room in three stations to experience each law in action using...
Internet History Sourcebooks Project
Fordham University: Modern History Sourcebook: Isaac Newton
This site from Fordham University links to excerpts of Newton's major works. Please scroll down to find the section on Newton titled "The Creation of Classical Physics." You will be able to actually read some of Newton's work! Read...
Other
University of Leicester: Comets
A detailed look at comets. Content outlines our observational history, as well as the origins of comets and an explanation of the appearance of comets.
NASA
Nasa: The Space Place: Build a Newtonian Physics Machine
Great hands on way to explain Newton's Second Law of Motion. Choose from three different Newtonian physics machines to build and test Newton's Second Law.
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Action Reaction! Rocket
Students construct a rocket from a balloon propelled along a guide string. They use this model to learn about Newton's three laws of motion, examining the effect of different forces on the motion of the rocket.
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Into Space!
While building and testing model rockets fueled by antacid tablets, students are introduced to the basic physics concepts on how rockets work. Students revise and improve their initial designs. Note: This activity is similar to the...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Sliding Textbooks
In this culminating activity of the unit which highlights how forces play a role in engineering design and material choices, students explore and apply their knowledge of forces, friction, acceleration, and gravity in a two-part experiment.
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Up, Up and Away! Airplanes
The airplanes unit begins with a lesson on how airplanes create lift, which involves a discussion of air pressure and how wings use Bernoulli's Principle to change air pressure. Following the lessons on lift, students explore the other...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: What Are Newton's Laws?
Through a series of three lessons and one activity, students are introduced to inertia, forces, and Newton's three laws of motion.
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: The Science of Swinging
Young scholars learn what a pendulum is and how it works in the context of amusement park rides. While exploring the physics of pendulums, they are also introduced to Newton's first law of motion - about continuous motion and inertia.
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: What Is Newton's First Law?
Students are introduced to the concepts of force, inertia, and Newton's first law of motion: objects at rest stay at rest and objects in motion stay in motion unless acted upon by an unbalanced force.This lesson is the first in a series...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: What Is Newton's Third Law?
Students are introduced to Newton's third law of motion, and then learn that engineers apply Newton's third law and an understanding of reaction forces when designing a wide range of creations, from rockets and aircraft to door knobs,...
Annenberg Foundation
Annenberg Learner: Amusement Park Physics: Roller Coaster
Learn about Newton's Laws of Physics, g-force, the causes of motion sickness, and more by reading about different rides at an amusement park.
CK-12 Foundation
Ck 12: Episd: Newton's First Law
[Free Registration/Login may be required to access all resource tools.] Apply mathematic equations to determine the effects of forces on objects as well as the law of inertia.
CK-12 Foundation
Ck 12: Episd: Newton's Second Law
[Free Registration/Login may be required to access all resource tools.] Break down how the relationship between acceleration and mass directly relates to the mass of an object.
PBS
Pbs Learning Media: Newton's Triple Play: Baseball Science
In this lesson, students watch a video and animations that relate Isaac Newton's three laws of motion to baseball and apply what they've learned about these laws to another sport or other real-life situation.
Other
Bscs: Forces and Motion Content Background Document
In this document, we will try to answer a fundamental question of physical science, "Why do things start to move, slow down, speed up, stop moving or change direction?" In answering these core questions we can develop concepts that can...
Physics Central
Physics Central: Physics in the Bathroom: Ripping Neatly
A great science experiment to demonstrate Newton's First Law of Motion, inertia. There is a step-by-step guide on how to conduct this experiment and links to other sites about inertia.
Florida State University
Florida State University: Science, Optics & You: Sir Isaac Newton
Biography of Sir Isaac Newton (1642-1727), a scientist whose impact is felt in many disciplines today. His laws of motion are integral to basic physics, and he co-invented calculus.
University of Virginia
University of Virginia: The Studies of Kepler
Biographical information of the early life of Kepler is provided as well as a somewhat detailed look at the highs and lows of his work in studying planetary motion.
Science Education Resource Center at Carleton College
Serc:investigating Friction:investigate How the Force of Friction Opposes Motion
For this investigation, students will learn that speed, velocity, and changes in velocity are the result of the action of forces on objects such as friction. They will be able to explain how the force of friction opposes motion by...
American Association of Physics Teachers
Com Padre Digital Library: Open Source Physics: Two Dimensional Air Drop Model
How do Red Cross pilots manage to drop loads of supplies from airplanes on a specific target? This simulation will illustrate this example of projectile motion.
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Physics Tug of War
In this activity, students will learn about Newton's 2nd Law of Motion. They will learn that the force required to move a book is proportional to the weight of the book. Engineers use this relationship to determine how much force they...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: You're a Pushover!
The purpose of this activity is to demonstrate Newton's 3rd Law of Motion, which is the physical law that governs thrust in aircraft. The students will do several activities that show that for every action there is an equal and opposite...