However, the fundamental concepts used in working catapults are still in use every day.Įngineers need to understand how much force is required to make an object with a certain mass move. Over time, catapults were made so big that they became too difficult to use, and eventually were no longer used. In the centuries after their first appearance, bigger and bigger catapults were constructed. Newton's Second Law – Catapult Worksheet (pdf) Visit [ to print or download.Ĭatapults were first used around 400 BC in Greece and China as weapons to launch rocks, arrows and other projectiles against enemies. Models can be used to represent systems and their interactions. In order to share information with other people, these choices must also be shared. For any given object, a larger force causes a larger change in motion.Īlignment agreement: Thanks for your feedback! All positions of objects and the directions of forces and motions must be described in an arbitrarily chosen reference frame and arbitrarily chosen units of size. The greater the mass of the object, the greater the force needed to achieve the same change in motion. The motion of an object is determined by the sum of the forces acting on it if the total force on the object is not zero, its motion will change. Plan an investigation individually and collaboratively, and in the design: identify independent and dependent variables and controls, what tools are needed to do the gathering, how measurements will be recorded, and how many data are needed to support a claim.Īlignment agreement: Thanks for your feedback! Science knowledge is based upon logical and conceptual connections between evidence and explanations.Īlignment agreement: Thanks for your feedback! This activity focuses on the following Three Dimensional Learning aspects of NGSS: Plan an investigation to provide evidence that the change in an object's motion depends on the sum of the forces on the object and the mass of the object.Ĭlick to view other curriculum aligned to this Performance Expectation Collect data throughout this experiment, including the maximum height of the cotton ball in flight and the distance traveled until it lands on the floor.Use the catapult model to explore the force exerted on the cotton ball and graph the correlation between angle (force) and distance traveled (acceleration).Recognize that understanding the scientific concepts described by Newton's laws of motion enables engineers to design airplanes, amusement park rides, elevators, and much more.Aerospace engineers save fuel by exploiting the second law when they let the planet's force of gravity pull a spacecraft towards the planet to increase its velocity, and then steer the spacecraft away from crashing into the planet.Īfter this activity, students should be able to: Understanding the scientific concepts of Newton's laws of motion has made it possible for engineers to build airplanes that fly, elevators and amusement park rides that are exciting but safe, cars that drive safely at high speeds and structures that do not collapse. Copyright © National Institute of Standards and Technology
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |