This activity enables students to apply concepts of 'newton's laws of motion' that are learned in class to a realworld situation by having them create a car powered by a deflating balloon that travels as far as possible.
The Balls in a Box model shows a system of particles is very sensitive to its initial conditions. In general, an isolated system of many particles that is prepared in a nonrandom configuration will change in time so as to approach its most random configuration where it is in equilibrium. What happens if we choose the initial conditions in a very special way?
The default initial condition corresponds to eight stationary particles perfectly aligned on the x-axis. Two particles approach from the left and the right. What happens when these particles collide with the eight stationary particles? The EJS model solves Newton's second law of motion numerically but pauses when a collision is detected. This is called an EJS event. Conservation of energy and momentum are applied at the event and the simulation is resumed.
Students acquire a basic understanding of the science and engineering of space travel as well as a brief history of space exploration. They learn about the scientists and engineers who made space travel possible and briefly examine some famous space missions. Finally, they learn the basics of rocket science (Newton's third law of motion), the main components of rockets and the U.S. space shuttle, and how engineers are involved in creating and launching spacecraft.
The EJS Inelastic Collision of Particles with Structure model displays the inelastic collision between two equal "particles" with structure on a smooth horizontal surface. Each particle has two microscopic elements which interact through a massless spring of stiffness k and natural length L. The mass of one of the microscopic elements and the spring length of the connector spring can be changed via textboxes. You can modify this simulation if you have EJS installed by right-clicking within the plot and selecting "Open EJS Model" from the pop-up menu item.
This activity introduces students to the basic physics concepts on how rockets work through the building and testing of a model rocket fueled by an antacid. Students have the opportunity to revise and improve their initial design. Note: This activity is similar to film canister rockets that students make in elementary school but is adapted for middle school.
In this lesson, students will explore motion, rockets and rocket motion while assisting Spacewoman Tess, Spaceman Rohan and Maya in their explorations. They will first learn some basic facts about vehicles, rockets and why we use them. Then, the students will discover that the motion of all objects including the flight of a rocket and movement of a canoe is governed by Newton's three laws of motion.
