Newton's 3rd Law

45 Minute Lesson

NJ Standards

5.2.4.E.1 / 5.2.2.E.2 – Identify the force that accelerates an object.

5.1.12.D.2 – Science involves using language, both oral and written, as a tool for making thinking public.
5.1.12.D.1 – Science involves practicing productive social interactions with peers, such as partner talk, whole-group discussions, and small group
work.

NJ Standard Goal Evidence

5.2.4.E.1 Students will be able to evaluate the acceleration of a system by considering Students will be able to design a air-powered
5.2.2.E.2 the external forces acting on the system. vehicle that moves in a direction
characterized by their design.
5.1.12.D.1 Students will be able to design and communicate about an air-powered vehicle Students will be able to draw and
5.1.12.D.2 utilizing their knowledge of Newton's Laws. communicate design aspects that went into
designing their air-powered vehicles.

Resources
Student Use: Oak Tag, Ziploc Bag, Egg, Flexi-straw, Rubber Bands, Tape, Push-Pop Pistons, Balloon

Pre-Requisite Knowledge
Newton's Laws of Motion
Kinematics
Real World Applications
 Vehicles, via environmental and alternative energy sources
 Transitive dynamics for motion
 Object design; increasing maximum distance traveled, reducing friction

Potential Difficulties
 Determining direction of acceleration for a system with external forces that are not exerted on the system. Newton's 3 rd Law pairs may
not be readily apparent unless pairs are identified and force diagrams are appropriately analyzed.
 Students may encounter design difficulties in enabling their vehicle to accelerate and sustain a given trip based on its design.
 Frictional forces may present difficulties when constructing a vehicle to travel along a surface.

Lesson Description
A. Opening Quiz (5 minutes)
Brief quiz on Newton's 2nd Law and 3rd Law; key things to assess here is a student's understanding of acceleration being dependent on the
mass of the system. Also, a key thing here is to evaluate if students can determine the direction of acceleration for a given system with
external forces acted. Finally, have students identify the 3 rd Law force pairs in a system with external objects interacting with it.

B. How do cars work? (10 minutes)

Discussion on how automobiles work. Students in groups will model an automobile as a simple point-like object for simplification.
Students must be able to identify an external force that accelerates the car. Students may benefit here from the exercise from Force
Concepts Inventory in regards to 3rd Law Force Pairs between a stalled car and a moving car pushing the stalled car.

C. Application Experiment: Design an Air-powered Vehicle (15 minutes)

Students in groups will design a cost-effective vehicle powered by air using a balloon and various other materials. The vehicle should be
able to sustain 20 inches of travel. Students should note their design, method of accelerating their vehicle, problems that they encounter.
Also they should identify how the balloon will accelerate the vehicle and in what direction.
D. Design Symposium (10 minutes)
Students in groups regroup and present their designs. Group discussion will be student driven but guided with questions such as design
choice, problems encountered in designing the vehicle, concepts that needed to be considered in order to construct a working
prototype, and even what design choices could result in a better vehicle.

E. Reflection (5 minutes)
Students reflect on what they have learned. What have they learned in light of Newton's Laws of Motion. Students should also discuss
limitations of their models that reflect real world designs.
Time Table

Activity Time Duration (Clock) Students doing Teacher doing

A – Opening Quiz 5 minutes (0:05) Quiz Set-up materials for Application
Experiment
B – How do cars work? 10 minutes (0:15) Discussion, Hand-out Listening, discussion
C – Application Experiment: 15 minutes (0:30) Inside group discussion, design Observing
Design an Air-powered Vehicle and construct air-powered vehicle
D – Design Symposium 10 minutes (0:40) Class discussion Discussion, Listening
E – Reflection 5 minutes (0:45) Reflect Discussion, Listening
Formative Assessment
What direction does a vehicle accelerate attached to a balloon that is Using Newton's 3rd Law, determine the direction to be the opposite
allowed to deflate? direction of deflation. Drawing a force diagram is very useful here.

What factors prevent the vehicle from traveling onwards infinitely? Students should identify frictional contact forces that decelerate a
vehicle.

What are steps we can make to make sure the vehicle travels as far as Students should attempt to address increasing external forces for higher
possible? acceleration and also decreasing frictional contact forces thereby
lowering deceleration of the vehicle.

How will transporting a passenger (egg) affect the design of your Students will need to address the mass that will increase for the system.
vehicle? As a result, external forces must be greater and frictional forces may
need to be reduced as well.
Homework
Assigned Homework Purpose

HS Dynamics PUM7.7 Newton's 3rd Law practice

HS Dynamics PUM14.9 Frictional Forces practice