Middle School Inquiry Lab on Newton's First Law
In this lab students will work with dominoes to explore the concepts of inertia and Newton’s first law.
Each inquiry lab will contain an essential question that will drive the lesson and make students think. For this lesson, the essential question is:
- How does the speed of a “vehicle” affect how far a domino “passenger” will travel forward after the “vehicle” hits a wall?
BACKGROUND INFORMATION AND MATERIALS LIST:
Students will begin the lab by reading the essential question and background information. This can be done individually, as lab groups, or as a whole class. If you consider lab groups, you also might include some type of whole class formative checks before digging into the lab.
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Materials List:
- 1-2 textbooks
- wooden board (at least 50 cm in length)
- 5-6 dominoes
- tape
- ruler
PROCEDURE:
In this lab students will complete two parts. In the first part, students will use a ruler to knock the bottom domino out from under a stack of dominoes. Next, students will slide stacked dominoes down a ramp and into a "wall." They will increase the distance over which the dominoes slide and measure how far the top domino travels after hitting the wall.
You may want to practice the lab setup beforehand to ensure that the dominoes will slide freely down the wooden boards. If there is too much friction, consider covering the ramps with something like wax paper or aluminum foil to create a smoother surface.
CHECK FOR UNDERSTANDING:
At this point in the lab, students will be checked for understanding by answering questions about their findings. Here are a few that come with the lab:
- Calculate the net force acting on each object.
- Draw a diagram of the domino stack and label the forces that were acting on the stack before you hit them with the ruler.
- Were the forces acting on the dominoes balanced or unbalanced? How do you know?
- Describe what happens to the stack when the bottom domino is hit with the ruler. Use the terms inertia and unbalanced force in your response.
CONCLUSION
Students will go back to the essential question and write a CER (Claim, Evidence, Reasoning) to conclude the lab. Once completed, students will reflect back on their learning by answering the following questions:
- What do you predict would happen if you taped two dominoes together (effectively increasing the mass of the "passenger"), placed them on top of the "vehicle" domino, and released them down the ramp?
- Describe a real-life situation in which you have experienced Newton’s first law. Use the words “unbalanced force” and “inertia” in your answer.
MODIFIED AND INDEPENDENT INQUIRY VERSIONS
All of the Kesler Science inquiry labs come with three different modification levels. Each lab is differentiated using the icons below.
STANDARDS ALIGNMENT
TEKS: 8.6C – Investigate and describe applications of Newton’s three laws of motion, such as in vehicle restraints, sports activities, amusement park rides, Earth’s tectonic activities, and rocket launches.
