Engagement & Explanation Activity:
1. Before the video: Ask students the following anticipatory questions.
A) What forces do you think cause a baseball hit by a batter to eventually stop having a motion?
B) Why is it easier to balance a moving bicycle than to balance on a bike that is not moving?
Allow students the opportunity to contribute and hear the responses of others.
3. During the video: Allow students to comment on interesting ideas on TodaysMeet as the video plays.
4. After the video: students will be given the following follow-up questions adapted from the TedEd video.
A) In the Tour De France, Bicycles are designed to be extremely light, and nearly all competitors’ bicycles today weigh just 15 pounds. Why would it be a disadvantage for cyclists in this race to ride heavier bicycles? Use Newton’s Laws to explain your answer.
B) If an object in motion stays in motion as mentioned in the talk, then why does your bicycle eventually come to a stop when you stop pedaling? Which forces are responsible for stopping you?
Exploration & Elaboration:
5. Divide students into tiered groups (3-4 per group) of varying performance levels. Each group will need one laptop/tablet/iPad/Smartphone to create a video (or slideshow) to demonstrate and explain Newton's First Law of Motion.
6. Assign students to use their soccer ball (or other equipment) to demonstrate Newton's First Law. Videos/slideshows are intended to be open-ended so that students can explain Newton's First Law of Motion through kicking, throwing, headbutting, or however they want so long as they provide an oral narrative explaining how the movement is an explanation of Newton's First Law.
7. Require students to explain during the video how the motion of the ball/object is affected by external forces and how their actions demonstrate all parts of Newton's First Law.
Allow students to present their videos to the class.
