EDUC 2220- Educational Technology Lesson Plan Template

Momentum and Newton's Laws

Michael Koons
12th Grade Physics

Common Core Standards:

Use and apply the laws of motion to analyze, describe and predict the effects of forces on the motions
of objects mathematically.

Derive simple mathematical relationships that have predictive power from experimental data

Lesson Summary:
In this lesson, the students will be exploring motion and forces through the event of collisions. Through this
experiment, they will be using a simulation to create a hypothesis and derive mathematical concepts
Estimated Duration:
Simulation/experiment will take a whole class period (estimated time being 60 minutes)
The analyzing of results will take 20 minutes
Lecture on what was discovered and deduced from the simulation will take 40 minutes
Total days: 2

Commentary: I think that the students should observe the laws and the concepts their selves through the
simulation thus being able to derive their mathematical models from it. To reinforce this knowledge gained I
will be lecturing on the concept afterwards to give more info on the "why". I believe that the simulation will
get the students interested into the lesson in a fun way.

Instructional Procedures:
Day 1:
First 5 minutes: Students will log into the computers and open up simulation

https://phet.colorado.edu/sims/collision-lab/collision-lab_en.html
Next 30 minutes: The students will then manipulate the values of the simulation. Recording what values they
used, and the resultant values for the two objects. Only object one will be manipulated. The mass for object
two will remain constant at 10kg
Object 1 Mass

Trial 1

Trial 2

10

Trial 3

15

Trial 4

20

Trial 5

25

Initial
Velocity

Final
Velocity

Initial
Final
Object
Momentum momentum two

Final
momentu
m

Final
velocity

The next 20 minutes they will be comparing the initial and final values of the objects.
The final 5 minutes the students will be closing out of their browsers and logging off the computers.
Day two:
First 5 minutes: The students will be asked to write their data on a white board and then chart the mass VS the
momentum on a graph on the same white board. The students would then circle around the room for
discussion.
Next 10 minutes: During the discussion the students will be asked if any correlation was found between mass,
velocity, and momentum. Through this discussion they will discover that momentum (P) is the product of
Mass (M) and Velocity (V). Deriving the equation P=MV.
Next 10 minutes: The students will then be asked to compare the initial momentum values with the final
momentum values. The students will discover that the total initial momentum between object one and object
two will equal the final total momentum between object one and object two. This shows that momentum is a
conserved value.
Next 5 minutes: I will ask the students what is another conserved value that we have learned in the past.
Eventually the students will recall that energy is also a conserved value.
The next 10 minutes: Students will learn the law of conservation of momentum.
Next 10 minutes: I will discuss the scientist who discovered the laws of motion, being Isaac Newton.
The final 10 minutes: The students will learn Newton's three laws

Pre-Assessment:
At the beginning of class there will be three questions on the board. The first asking "what is momentum"
with multiple choice, the next asking "what do we derive momentum from", and the last asking "Is momentum
conserved?" The answered will be then listed on scrap pieces of paper and then handed in.
Scoring Guidelines:
The answers will be very direct. The answers are either right or wrong. No question is open ended.
Post-Assessment:
The students will be given a short quiz consisting of 10 questions/problems. Three of which will be the same
questions from the pre assessment. Another asking to list Newton's three laws. The final six will be
mathematical concepts relating to momentum and Newton's laws.
Scoring Guidelines:
The quiz will be graded based on a percentage scale. With an A being 90-100% and so on.

Differentiated Instructional Support

Describe how instruction can be differentiated (changed or altered) to meet the needs of gifted or accelerated
students: Students will accelerated learning could be introduced to the "advanced" format of the simulation.
The students can observe how momentum acts on multiple objects in a two or three dimensional plane.
Discuss additional activities you could do to meet the needs of students who might be struggling with the
material: Students who are struggling could read more about the lesson through the extension link below.
Also, peer-to-peer tutoring would work very well in this concept since it is a relatively easy one.

Extension
http://www.physicsclassroom.com/Class/momentum/u4l1a.cfm

Homework Options and Home Connections

The homework for this lesson would be following Day 2. The students will be given a list of situational
problems for momentum and motion to solve. From the homework they will need to be able to deduce their
knowns, unknowns, and the formula they would need to use in order to gain knowledge of the unknowns.
This assignment will be presented through Google forms.

Interdisciplinary Connections
This lesson can be linked to history. The students can learn who was the one to discover the laws of motion
(Newton) and the time period in which he lived in. Was his work accepted by the public? Or rejected like so
many other scientists such as Galileo, and Copernicus .
Materials and Resources:

For teachers

Smart board and power point presentation.

For students

Computers, and white boards

Key Vocabulary
Velocity
Mass
Momentum
Impulse
Time

Additional Notes
None