Middle School Inquiry Lab on Newton's Third Law
In this lab students will investigate Newton’s third law of motion by creating simple balloon rockets that race along a taut length of string or fishing line.
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 increasing the inflation of a balloon rocket affect the distance it will travel?
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:
- balloons
- 3 m vinyl/plastic string, fishing line, or dental floss
- drinking straw
- tape
- meterstick
- scissors
- clothespin or binder clip
PROCEDURE:
This is a two-part lab. In the first part, students blow a large breath into a balloon and clasp the end shut with a clothespin or binder clip. Then students will attach a straw to the top of the balloon with tape and move the balloon as far to the end of the string as possible. This is so that students can measure how far the balloon actually travels. Students will release the clip and measure how far the balloon flies down the line.
In the second part, students will diagram the best way a rocket ship will use thrust to maneuver to avoid colliding into an asteroid.
You may want to set up the string lines with straws attached prior to student arrival. Each group will need a setup with string with a straw threaded onto it, with both ends tied to stable objects (such as two chairs, desks, tables, etc.) far enough away to keep the string taut and leveled. You can also vary the length of string according to your needs, but it is recommended that groups have at least 3 meters of string to work with. It’s optimal to use string or fishing line that is smooth and relatively low friction.
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:
- Use arrows and labels to show the action and reaction forces.
- Draw a diagram of the balloon rocket. Label the action and reaction forces involved in making the balloon move.
- Describe your drawing. What is the spaceship doing?
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:
- How does Newton’s third law explain how a rocket is able to launch? What does a rocket have to fight against to launch into space?
- Describe another form of transportation that uses thrust and the principles of Newton’s third law. What are the action and reaction forces involved?
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.
NGSS: MS PS2-1 – Apply Newton’s third law to design a solution to a problem involving the motion of two colliding objects.
