“What we know is a drop, what we don’t know is an ocean.” Forces are everywhere. Our daily actions have a lot of physics hidden. A number of scientists have described laws for movement, force, position change, etc. One such set of laws is the Laws of motion. To describe a force we use the direction and strength. This project will enable us to understand the logic and give a gist of the laws.
Introduction:
Velocity: Speed is how fast something is moving. Speed = Distance ÷ Time. Velocity is expressed as meters per second or m/s
Inclines: Inclined planes are diagonal surfaces that objects can sit on, slide up, slide down, roll up, or roll down. Inclines are useful since they can reduce the amount of force required to move an object vertically
Friction: Friction is the resistance of motion when one object rubs against another. Anytime two objects rub against each other, they cause friction. Friction works against the motion and acts in the opposite direction
Momentum: Momentum is a measurement of mass in motion. Any object that is moving has momentum. In physics, the momentum of an object is equal to the mass times the velocity
Laws of Motion:
The first law says that any object in motion will continue to move in the same direction and speed unless forces act on it
The second law states that the greater the mass of an object, the more force it will take to accelerate the object. There is even an equation that says Force = mass x acceleration or F=ma
The third law states that for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction
Requirements:
Popsicle Stick
Cardboard
Paper Straws
Chart papers of black, red, orange, green colors
Sketch Pens
White crayon pencils
Compass
Double-sided tape
Glue and Scissor
Steps:
Bridge
Take a cardboard and cut a shape with a width of 5 cm - 6 cm and length as 15 cm
Fold at equal intervals to make an incline and decline plane
You can also glue popsicle sticks as bridge boundaries or fold a bit on both the sides
Paste black chart paper that looks like a road and with white crayon pencil mark lines
Traffic lights
Take a cardboard and cut a shape with a width of 2 cm and length as 5 cm
Cut 3 small circles from red, orange and green chart paper as traffic signals and then paste those 3 circles on cardboard. You can also color them
Finally, using double-sided tape, attach a traffic light body with a popsicle stick
Houses or Buildings
Take a cardboard and make structures as you wish like houses, hospitals, banks, schools
Color them or paste chart papers around it
Trees
If you have artificial trees at home, you can use it, else cut out shapes for leaves and branches using green colored chart paper and brown colored chart paper respectively
Roads
Paste black chart paper on cardboard
Place your houses, buildings, trees on it
Add bridge and mark lines as connecting roads using white crayon pencil
Make a zebra crossing in front of the traffic lights
Learning Opportunity:
A scientist named Isaac Newton came up with three Laws of Motion to describe how things move scientifically. He also described how gravity works, which is an important force that affects everything.
Time Required: 1 hr
Cost: < $5
Demo :
Laws of Motion Explained -
In our video, let's consider Newton's First Law of Motion demo and we can observe that initially, the car is at rest unless force is acted upon to put the car in motion.
Now, let's consider Newton's Second Law of Motion demo and we can observe that the greater the mass of the truck more force it requires to accelerate the truck whereas Net Force F = M x A i.e Mass x Acceleration.
In addition to this, let's consider Newton's Third Law of Motion demo and we can observe that when the car hits truck, the truck moves from its rest position.
Velocity Explained -
Velocity is the speed at which your car is moving. If we know the distance and time at which our car moved, we can calculate the velocity. For example, Distance traveled 400metres and Time taken 20seconds then Velocity is 400 ÷ 20 = 20m/s.
Inclined Plane Explained -
In our video, we built a bridge that acts as an inclined and declined plane for cars or trucks to move from one place to another.
Friction Explained -
In our video, every time when the car or truck hits the tree it creates resistance or friction and acts in the opposite direction to stop the car.
Momentum Explained -
In our video, suppose truck is moving with a mass of 1000kg and velocity at 40m/s so it would be difficult to stop at the traffic signal due to its large momentum which is mass x velocity.