Activity 1: Inertia

Materials needed: a car, ball, or top for each group

Procedure:

1. Divide students into groups of four or five.
2. Give each group a car or a ball.
3. Have the students place the toy in the middle of the table and observe what it does. They should observe that the toy doesn't move.
4. Now instruct the students to push the toy. Ask them what happened.
5. Explain that they are observing Newton's First Law. Pushing the toy exerted an external force which caused the toy to move. Ask, "What made the toy stop?" (Students may say, "The car/ball slowed down until it stopped." Suggest to them that the friction between the toy and the table caused it to stop -- this was the external force that caused it to stop moving.)
6. Tell the students they will now experiment more with inertia and friction. Gather cars and balls from the students.