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TeacherInformation
Teachers:ThismaterialexaminesNewtonsThirdLawofMotioninawaythatwillhelpyouteach
thelawtoyourstudents.ThephotocopyreadyStudentActivitiespageswillgivestudentsthe
opportunitytolearnaspectsoftheThirdLawinawaythattheywillfindinterestingandfun.Notes
abouteachactivityappearintheNotestoTeacherssection.Theactivitiescanbetailoredforthe
levelofyourstudents,andcanbecompletedindividuallyoringroups.Inaddition,studentswill
createalogbook,calledNewtonsLawbook,inwhichtheycantakenotesandtracktheirfindings
fromthescientificexperimentsofferedintheStudentActivitiespages.
Newton'sThirdLawofMotion
Foreveryforce,thereisanequalandoppositeforce.
NewtonsFirstLawofMotionexplainstheLawofInertia,theconnectionbetweenforceand
motion.NewtonsSecondLawofMotiondescribesquantitativelyhowforcesaffectmotion.And
NewtonsThirdLawofMotionaddressesthenatureofforce.
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Ourdailyexperiencesmightleadustothinkthatforcesarealways
appliedbyoneobjectonanother.Forexample,ahorsepullsa
buggy,apersonpushesagrocerycart,oramagnetattractsanail.In
eachoftheseexamplesaforceisexertedononebodybyanother
body.IttookSirIsaacNewtontorealizethatthingsarenotso
simple,notsoonesided.True,ifahammerstrikesanail,the
hammerexertsaforceonthenail(therebydrivingitintoaboard).
Yet,thenailmustalsoexertaforceonthehammersincethe
hammersstateofmotionischangedand,accordingtotheFirst
Law,thisrequiresanet(outside)force.Thisistheessenceof
NewtonsThirdLaw:Wheneveroneobjectexertsaforceona
secondobject,thesecondobjectexertsanequalandoppositeforce
onthefirstobject.Thislawisoftenstated:Foreveryactionthereis
anequalandoppositereaction.However,itisimportantto
understandthattheactionforceandthereactionforceareactingon
differentobjects.
Trythis:Pressthesideofyourhandagainsttheedgeofatable.
Noticehowyourhandbecomesdistorted.Clearly,aforceisbeing
exertedonit.Youcanseetheedgeofthedeskpressingintoyour
handyoucanfeelthedeskexertingaforceonyourhand.Nowpress
harder.Theharderyoupresstheharderthedeskpushesbackonyour
hand.Rememberthisimportantpoint:Youcanonlyfeeltheforces
beingexertedonyou,nottheforcesyouexertonsomethingelse.So,
itistheforcethedeskisexertingonyouthatyouseeandfeelinyour
hand.

Itisoftendifficulttovisualizehowaninanimateobject(suchasadesk,floor,orwall)canexert
force.Howdotheydoit?Thefactisthatallobjects,tosomedegree,areelastic.Itiseasyto
visualizeastretchedrubberbandexertingaforceonawadofpaperandcausingittoflyacrossthe
room.Othermaterialsmaynotstretchaseasilyasarubberband,howeverallobjectsstretch(or
compress)whenaforceisexertedonthem,andinreturntheyreact.

TheSwiftSatellite
Swiftisaspacebasedmultiwavelengthobservatorydedicatedtothestudyofgammaraybursts.Its
purposeistodeterminetheoriginandnatureofthesepowerfulcosmicexplosionsdeterminehow
theblastwavesfromtheburstsevolveandinteractwiththeirsurroundingsanddetermineifthese
burstscanbeusedaseffectiveprobesoftheearlyUniverse.ScheduledforlaunchinFall2003,
SwiftisacollaborationbetweentheUnitedStates,theUnitedKingdom,andItaly.
NewtonsThirdLawandtheSwiftSatellite
Swiftwascreatedtostudygammaraybursts,whicharebriefcosmicburstsofelectromagnetic
radiation.WhenSwiftdetectsagammarayburst,itmustbeabletoturnandpointtoitvery
quicklyinordertogatherinformationabouttheburstbeforeitisover.ThismeansSwiftmustbe
abletorotatetopointataburst,thenstoprotating.Thisiscalledslewing.Inordertostartandstop
slewing,thesatellitemustpushagainstsomething.Inthiscase,itwillpushagainstasetofsmall
wheels(calledreactionwheelsorflywheels)insidethesatellite.
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Tobeginslewing,thesatellitepushesagainstoneofthewheels.Thispushrotatesthewheelin
onedirection,forcingthesatellitetorotateintheotherdirection.OnceSwiftispointingintheright
direction,itpushesagainstthewheelagainthistimeintheoppositedirection.Thisbringsthe
satellitetoastop.Bypushingagainstthreedifferentwheels,allorientedindifferentdirections,the
satellitecanturnandpointinanydirection.
NewtonsThirdLawofMotionexplainsthephysicsbehindthistechnicalmaneuver:Forevery
force,thereisanequalandoppositeforce.

DemosandThoughtProblems
Teachers:UsethefollowingdemonstrationstointroduceNewtonsThirdLawtoyourclass.
Remindstudentsthataforceisnecessarytostartsomethingmovingwhenitisatrest,ortochange
itsmotionfromonespeedordirectiontoanother.
mightbebaseball.Theforceexertedontheballbythebatcausestheballto
changedirections.Asanaddedbrainteaser,askstudentstopictureagameof
croquet.ThemallethitsBallA,which,inturn,hitsBallB.Askstudentsto
explainthischainofevents.
Lastly,throwaballstraightupandcatchitasitcomesdown.Askstudents
whatforcecausedtheballsdirectiontochange.Theanswer,ofcourse,is
gravity.Thismayleadtoadiscussionthatnotallforcescomefromobvious
sourceslikeawallorabat,butmaybeactionatadistance,likegravityor
magnetism.
Gatheraselectionofballswhichareroughlythesamesize,butverydifferentmasses.For
example,youmighthaveasmallbeachballandabasketball,orawhiffleballandasoftball.Given
whatyouknowaboutNewtonsSecondLawofMotion(F=ma),youwouldexpecttoapplya
greaterforcetokickthebasketballthanyouwouldneedtokickthebeachballthesamedistance.
Furthermore,NewtonsThirdLawofMotiontellsyoutoexpectthebasketballtoexertalarger
forceonyourfootthanthebeachballwouldexert.

Haveyourstudentskicktheballsandfindout.Tellthemthatifthey
feelaforce,itisbecauseoneisbeingexertedonthembytheball,not
becausetheyareexertingoneontheball!Alternately,inthecaseofa
softballandwhiffleball,NewtonsSecondLawtellsusthatthesoftball
(whichhasgreatermass)willgenerateagreaterforceasitfallsthanwill
thewhiffleball.RememberthatinthiscaseofF=ma,aisthe
accelerationduetogravityandisaconstantforbothballs.

Haveyourstudentstaketurnsdroppingthesoftballatleastonemeterintothehandofanother
student.Next,havethemdropthewhiffleballfromthesameheight.Askthemwhattheyfelt.Ask
whichballrequiredtheirhandtoexertthemostforceinordertostopthefall.Thesensationintheir
handswillgivethemtheanswer!
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Haveastudentsitonaskateboard(facingoneendoftheboard)withhisorherlegsupoffthe
ground.Throwabasketballtothestudent.Askthestudenttocatchtheballagainsthisorherbody,
andnotbystretchingouttheirarms.Someoneshouldstandbehindthestudenttostopthe
skateboardfromrollingtoofar.Next,tellthestudentontheskateboardtothrowthebasketballto
someonestandingdirectlyinfrontofthem.Whathappens?
Tocontinuetheactivity,haveastudentstandontheskateboard.Askhimorhertojumporstepoff
oneendofit.Whathappenstotheskateboardasaresultofthisaction?
Tryvariationsofthisactivity.Throwthebasketballharderthensofter.Throwaballofgreaterthen
lessermass.Howdothesechangesaffecttherollingoftheskateboard?Whatiftheskateboardis
oncarpetoratileorwoodenfloor?Howdoesfrictioncomeintoplay?

StudentActivities
Students:TheseactivitieswillhelpyoulearnallaboutNewtonsThirdLawofMotion.Usethe
notebook,whichyouhavedesignatedasyourNewtonsLawbook,totakenotes,trackyour
progress,andevaluatefindingsfromtheexperimentsyouwillconduct.Startbywritingdown
NewtonsThirdLawofMotion.
NewtonsThirdLawofMotion
Foreveryforce,thereisanequalandoppositeforce.

Activity#1:ADayattheRaces
Inthisexperimentyouwillcreateaballoonrocket!Youwillfigureouthowtoshoottheballoon
fromthebackofyourclassroomandhittheblackboardwithitatthefrontoftheroom.Youwilldo
thisusingafishinglineasatrackfortheballoontofollow.
Materials
Youwillneedthefollowingitemsforthisexperiment:
balloons(oneforeachteam)
plasticstraws(oneforeachteam)
tape(cellophaneormasking)
fishingline,10metersinlength
astopwatch
ameasuringtape

Procedure
Thisisarace.Theracewillbetimedandawinnerdetermined.
1.Divideintogroupsofatleastfivestudents.
2.Attachoneendofthefishinglinetotheblackboardwithtape.Haveoneteammateholdthe
otherendofthefishinglinesothatitistautandroughlyhorizontal.Thelinemustbeheld
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steadyandmaynotbemovedupordownduringtheexperiment.
3.Haveoneteammateblowupaballoonandholditshutwithhisorherfingers.Haveanother
teammatetapethestrawalongthesideoftheballoon.Threadthefishinglinethroughthe
strawandholdtheballoonatthefarendoftheline.
4.Assignoneteammatetotimetheevent.Theballoonshouldbeletgowhenthetimekeeper
yellsGo!Observehowyourrocketmovestowardtheblackboard.
5.HaveanotherteammatestandrightnexttotheblackboardandyellStop!whentherocket
hitsitstarget.Iftheballoondoesnotmakeitallthewaytotheblackboard,Stop!shouldbe
calledwhentheballoonstopsmoving.Thetimekeepershouldrecordtheflighttime.
6.Measuretheexactdistancetherockettraveled.Calculatetheaveragespeedatwhichthe
balloontraveled.Todothis,dividethedistancetraveledbythetimetheballoonwasin
flight.FillinyourresultsforTrial1intheTablebelow.
7.EachteamshouldconducttwomoreracesandcompletethesectionsintheTablefor
Trials2and3.Thencalculatetheaveragespeedforthethreetrialstodetermineyourteams
raceentrytime.

Trial1

Distance(cm)

Time(sec)

Speed(cm/sec)

Trial2
Trial3

Average:

Thewinnerofthisraceistheteamwiththefastestaverageballoonspeed.

ThinkAboutIt
1.Whatmadeyourrocketmove?
2.HowisNewtonsThirdLawofMotiondemonstratedbythisactivity?
3.InyourNewtonsLawbook,drawpicturesusinglabeledarrowstoshowtheactionandreaction
forcesactingontheinsideoftheballoonbeforeitwasreleasedandafteritwasreleased.

ThingstoDiscuss
Remember,NewtonsThirdLawofMotionsaysthatwheneveroneobjectexertsaforceon
anotherobject,thesecondobjectexertsanequalandoppositeforceonthefirstobject.However,
notethatthetwoforcesdonotactonthesameobject.
SirIsaacNewtonrecognizedthatallobjectsarecoveredbyhisLawsofMotion.Thisincludes
objectswithamassthatchanges,eventhoughthesesituationsarelesscommon.Oneexampleof
thischangingmasssituationisarocket,whichlosesfuelandothermatterasittravels.Rocketsare
perfectforspacetravelbecausetheycarrytheirfuelandoxygenwiththem.Infact,mostofthe
massofanunlaunchedrocketisintheformoffuelandoxidizer.Inspace,theburningfuelis
ejectedfromtherearoftherocket.Thisactionproducesareactionforceontherocketbodyand
propelsitforward.Notethatthereisnoneedforairtopushagainsttherocketforittowork.
NewtonsThirdLawofMotionassuresusthatejectionofanobjectfromasystemmustpropelthe
systemintheoppositedirection(theejectedfuelgoesoneway,therocketgoestheother).This
propulsiveforceisreferredtoasthethrustoftherocket.
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Activity#2:ReactingtoAction
NewtonsThirdLawofMotionmakessensewhenyouthinkaboutitinconnectionwithhisfirst
twolaws.TheFirstLawsaysanobjectremainsatrestormovesinastraightlineataconstant
speedunlessactedonbyanoutsideforce.TheSecondLawsaysanobjectactedonbyanoutside
forceexperiencesanacceleration(inotherwords,achangeinitsspeedordirectionofmotion).The
ThirdLawsaysforeveryforcetheremustbesomesortofreactionforce.
Thinkaboutwhathappenswhenyouhitanailwithahammer.Itisclearthatthehammerexertsa
forceonthenail.Butsincethehammermotionwasstopped(itdidnotdrivethenailthroughthe
wallandkeepongoingindefinitelyataconstantspeed),thenailmusthaveexertedaforcebackon
thehammerinordertostopitsmotion.Letsthinkaboutsomeoftheforcesweexperienceevery
dayandhowtheymightbeexplainedintermsofNewtonsThirdLawofMotion.
Materials
Youwillneedthefollowingitemsfortheseexperiments:
Experiment1:onerubberball
Experiment2:twodoughnutmagnetsasmallplastictoycarortruck10cmofthreadtapeor
glue
Experiment3:awoodenblockabucketofwater
Procedures
Performthefollowingactivities.InyourNewtonsLawbook,describewhatyoudidandwhatyou
observed.Thenwriteyouranswerstothequestionsthatfollow.
1.Droparubberballfromaheightofonemeter.Catchitwhenitbouncesbackuptoits
maximumheight.Nametheforcewhichcausedtheballtostartmoving.Whatmusthave
happenedinorderfortheballtobouncebacktoyourhand?Aftertheballbouncesand
startstomoveupward,whathappenstoitsmotion?Why?Discussyourobservationsinterms
ofNewtonsThirdLawofMotion.
2.Withtapeorglue,attachadoughnutmagnettothebackofasmallplastictoycarortruck.
Slowlybringtheothermagnetclosetothebackofthevehicleuntilthevehiclestartstoroll
forward(themagnetsshouldbeofsimilarpolarity,meaningthattheyrepeleachother).
Quicklypullawaythemagnetinyourhandandletthecarrolltoastop.Whatforcemadethe
carmove?Whatforcemadeitstop?Describealloftheaction/reactionpairs
inthiscaseanddrawadiagramtoillustratethem.Next,suspendamagnet
froma10cmlengthofthread.Holdtheendofthethreadandbringthe
hangingmagnettowardthebackofthevehicle(again,themagnetsshouldbe
ofsimilarpolarity).Describewhathappensthistimeandwhy.Howdoesthis
relatetoNewtonsThirdLawofMotion.
3.Placeawoodenblockinabucketofwatersothatitfloats.Pushtheblock
downintothewaterandreleaseit.Whathappens?Why?Whatdoyounotice
ifyoupushtheblockdowntogreaterandgreaterdepthsinthebucket?How
canyouexplainthisintermsofforces?

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NotestoTeachers
Activity#1:ADayattheRaces
Theairinsidetheballoonrocketpushesontherocket,sendingitforward.Butatthesametimethe
rocket(balloon)ispushingbackontheairinsideit!Thisiswhataccountsfortheaircomingout
theback.
Manystudentswillhavedifficultywiththisconcept.Theairoutsidetheballoonpushesonthewall
oftheballoon,forcingouttheairinsidetheballoon.NewtonsThirdLawexplainswhytheair
comingoutthebackcausestheballoontomoveforward.Acommonmisconceptionisthatthe
forwardmovementisduetothemoleculesrushingouttherearoftheballoonandpushingonthe
outsideairmolecules.

Activity#2:ReactingtoAction
1.Whentheballisdropped,theforceofgravitycausesittomoveanddroptowardtheground.
Thefloorexertsaforceontheballtomakeitchangeitsdirectionofmotionandmovebackup.As
ittravelsupward,theballslowsdown.Thisisbecausetheforceofgravityisnowactingonitin
thedirectionoppositetoitsmotion.IfwethinkaboutthisintermsofNewtonsThirdLaw,we
wouldsaythatthefloorexertsanequalandoppositeforceonthefallingball,soitstopsthefallof
theballandthenprovidesandupwardaccelerationofmagnitudegtotheball.Withoutalossof
energywhenitbounces(forexamplewhenusingasuperball),theballwouldbouncebackupto
thesameheightfromwhichitwasoriginallydropped.
2.Magneticforceiswhatstartsthetoyvehiclemoving.Makesureyourstudentsunderstandthat,
justlikewithgravity,magnetismisaforcethatactsatadistance.Inotherwords,directcontact
betweentheobjectsisnotnecessary.Pointouttoyourstudentsthatitistheirhandthatpushesthe
magnetforwardanditisthemagneticforcebetweenthemagnetsthatcausesthetoyvehicleto
move.Oncethemagneticforceisremoved,thecarwould(accordingtoNewtonsFirstLaw)
continuetomoveindefinitelyinastraightlineataconstantspeed.Butitdoesnt,itslowsdown
andstops.Itexperiencesanegativeacceleration,ordeceleration.AccordingtoNewtonsSecond
Law,fordecelerationtotakeplaceaforcemustbeapplied.Inthiscase,itistheforceoffriction
betweenthevehicleswheelsandthetabletoporfloorandbetweenthevehiclesbodyandtheair
whichcausedthevehicletochangeitsmotion.
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Inthesecondpartoftheexperiment,withthemagnethangingfromathread,studentswilldiscover
adifferentresult.(Makesureyourstudentsorientthemagnetssothattheyrepeleachother.)As
youslowlybringthesuspendedmagnetclosertothemagnetonthevehicle,themagnetonthe
threadwillbepushedbackwardwithaforceequaltotheforceitisexertingonthevehicle.The
vehiclemaymoveforwardalittle,ormaynotmoveatall,dependingontheweightofthevehicle
andthetypeofsurfaceitistryingtorollon.Butthemagnetonthethreadwilldefinitelybepushed
backward,awayfromthevehicle.Studentsmayhavefeltthisforceintheirhandonthefirsttrial,
althoughtheymaynothaverealizeditssignificance.
3.Itisthebuoyantforcewhichcausestheblockinthebuckettorisetothetopofthewaterand
float.Thepressureoftheliquidincreaseswithdepth.Therefore,theupwardforceofthewateron
thebottomofanobjectisgreaterthanthedownwardforceofthewateronthetopoftheobject.
Objectsonlysinkiftheirweightislargerthanthenetupwardforceofthewater(recallthatweight
istheforceequaltotheobjectsmasstimestheaccelerationduetogravity).
Notethatitishardertopushtheblockdeeperintothebucketbecausetheforceofthewater
increaseswithdepth.Howcanyoutell?Youcanfeeltheblockpushingharderonyourhandasyou
trytopushitdeeperintothewater.Haveyourstudentstrytopushtheblocktovariousdepths
usingonlyoneortwofingers.Theresultsbecomeveryclear!
NationalScienceandMathematicsStandardsfortheNewtonsLawsMaterials
PHYSICALSCIENCE(Grades58,912)
MotionsandForces
UNIFYINGSCIENCECONCEPTSANDPROCESSES
Systems,order,andorganization
Evidence,models,andexplanation
Change,constancy,andmeasurement
SCIENCEASINQUIRY
Understandingofscientificconcepts
Understandingofthenatureofscience
Skillsnecessarytobecomeindependentinquirersaboutthenaturalworld
ALGEBRA(Grades612)
Understandpatterns,relations,andfunctions
Representandanalyzemathematicalsituations
Usemathematicalmodels
GEOMETRY(Grades612)
Usegeometricmodelingtosolveproblems
MEASUREMENT(Grades612)
Understandandusemeasurableattributesofobjects
Applyappropriatetechniques,tools,andformulas
DATAANALYSIS(Grades612)
Select,create,anduseappropriategraphicalrepresentationsofdata
Developandevaluateinferencesandpredictionsthatarebasedondata
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MATHEMATICSPROCESSSTANDARDS
Reasoning
ProblemSolving
RepresentingMathematicalRelationships
ConnectionstoScienceandtheOutsideWorld
CommunicationofMathematicsandScience

Resources
Copiesofthesematerials,alongwithadditionalinformationonNewtonsLawsofMotionandLaw
ofGravitation,areavailableontheSwiftMissionEducationandPublicOutreachWebsite:
http://swift.sonoma.edu/education/
NASAWebsites:
NASAsofficialWebsitehttp://www.nasa.gov
SwiftSatellitehttp://swift.gsfc.nasa.gov
NASAEducationResources:
SwiftsEducationandPublicOutreachProgramhttp://swift.sonoma.edu
SpaceLink,EducationResourceshttp://spacelink.nasa.gov
ImaginetheUniverse!http://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov
StarChildhttp://starchild.gsfc.nasa.gov
NASAsCentralOperationofResourcesforEducators(CORE):http://core.nasa.gov/index.html
Checkoutthesevideos:
LiftofftoLearning:NewtoninSpace(1992),$15.00
FlightTestingNewtonsLaws(1999),$24.00
NewtonsLawsofMotion:
http://www.grc.nasa.gov/WWW/K12/airplane/newton.html
NewtonsLawofGravitation:
http://csep10.phys.utk.edu/astr161/lect/history/newtongrav.html
ConicSections:
http://www.keypress.com/sketchpad/java_gsp/conics.html
http://cs.jsu.edu/mcis/faculty/leathrum/Mathlets/conics.html
NewtonintheClassroom:
http://www.physicsclassroom.com/Class/newtlaws/newtltoc.html
http://www.glenbrook.k12.il.us/gbssci/phys/Class/newtlaws/u2l1a.html
Acknowledgments
Creators:
KaraGranger,MariaCarrilloHighSchool,California
LauraWhitlock,NASAsSwiftMission,California
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ScienceandEducationReviewers:
ThomasC.Arnold,StateCollegeAreaHighSchool,Pennsylvania
MargaretChester,ThePennsylvaniaStateUniversity,Pennsylvania
AlanGould,LawrenceHallofScience,California
BruceH.Hemp,Ft.DefianceHighSchool,Virginia
DerekHullinger,UniversityofMaryland,Maryland
JamesLochner,NASAGoddardSpaceFlightCenter,Maryland
JaneD.Mahon,HooverHighSchool,Alabama
AnnParsons,NASAGoddardSpaceFlightCenter,Maryland
OriginalArtworkandDesign:AuroreSimonnet,SonomaStateUniversity,California
PaintingofSirIsaacNewtonbyEnochSeeman,1726
Editor:StacyHorn,SanFrancisco,California

http://swift.sonoma.edu

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