Wow! There are so many, where to start. Visit my Demo site at http://www.darylscience.com/DemoPhys.html . There, you will find 30 or so
Newt Demos using no specialized equipment.
My faves are, in no special order;
Pulling the tablecloth out from under a picnic set then a regular clunky
dinner set. Why does one work, the other not.
Stack several textbooks on your head. On top of that, have someone hammer a
nail into a hunk of '2 x 4'. The inertia of the texts stops the force from
the hammer making it to your head. Neat visual.
Bed-O-Nails! I'm sure you can slap one together tonight...
Break a landscaping brick on your hand which is sitting constrained on the
top of a lab desk. Careful! Wrap the brick smartly! Do not follow thru like
you are driving a railroad spike. Your hand will never forgive you...
Two kids on skates is good. I use the heavy-duty collision carts. Me, of
mass 120kg, on one set, a small kid on another set. Face each other. I push
him/her lightly. He/she rolls backward, I barely budge. Then, I have the kid
push me. Same result. I barely budge. The kid usually gets quite
challenging. Have him/her push as hard as they like. It's a great visual
seeing a kid recede from me at near the speed of sound (exaggeration, of
course...) while I stand there...
Daryl L. Taylor, Fizzix Guy
Williamstown HS & Engineering Academy, Rowan University NJ
PAEMST '96
International Internet Educator of the Year '03
NJSTA Executive Board
www.DarylScience.com <http://www.DarylScience.com>
609.330.9571
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-----Original Message-----
From: Forum for Physics Educators [mailto:PHYS-L@list1.ucc.nau.edu]On
Behalf Of Dan Folmar
Sent: Wednesday, June 23, 2004 7:24 PM
To: PHYS-L@LISTS.NAU.EDU
Subject: Cool Demo for Newton's First Law?
Hello,
I'm a new (prospective) teacher, and I have my second interview with a local
high school tomorrow. I need to deliver a 15 minute lesson on Newton's 1st
law. I'm looking for some good ideas for a "wow" demo that will deliver the
message effectively and be easy to pull off. Right now, I'm thinking about
wearing roller blades and ask one of the students to push me -- and then go
into a discussion about constant velocity.
Any other ideas will be appreciated!
Thanks,
Dan
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