Unit Title: Newtons First Law of Motion

Length: Approx. 1 week

STAGE 1 IDENTIFY DESIRED RESULTS

Established Goals:
Understand the relation between force and motion as described in Newtons First Law of Motion.
(MS-PS2-2) [G8.S5.C2.PO2]*

Identify the conditions under which an object will continue in its state of motion.
Describe what happens to an objects motion when acted on by balanced versus unbalanced
forces.
Graph position, force, and motion for an object given example scenarios. (MS-PS2-2)
[G8.S5.C2.PO5]

What understandings are desired? What essential questions will be

considered?

Students will understand that Students will be able to answer

1. Objects at rest tend to remain in 1. What does Newtons First Law of

motion or stay at rest (inertia)
unless acted on by an unbalanced
force.
2. An objects motion will change if an
unbalanced force acts on it.
3. Friction is a force.
4. All positions of objects and
directions of forces and motions
must be described in an arbitrarily
chosen reference frame and
arbitrarily chosen unit of size. In
order to share that information with
other people, these choices must
also be shared. (MS-PS2-2)
Motion say? How were his laws
developed, and what effects did
they have on society historically?
2. What are some aspects of our
current society that have been
impacted by Newtons First Law?
3. What happens to an object at rest if
it is acted on by an unbalanced
force? What would happen if the
objects mass was increased?
4. What happens to an object moving
at a constant velocity if it is acted
on by an unbalanced force? What
would happen if the objects mass
was increased?
5. How does Newtons First Law of
Motion explain why Arizona has a
mandatory seat beat law? How does
a seat belt affect a passengers at
rest inertia, and their in motion
inertia?

* NGSS standards are listed in parentheses ( ), while AZ State Science Standards are listed in brackets [ ].
What key knowledge and skills will students acquire as a result of this unit?

Students will know Students will be able to

1. Definitions of key terms: state of 1. Identify the conditions under which an

motion, inertia, unbalanced force,
balanced force, constant velocity,
conditions, mass, position.
2. Relationships between states of
motion and forces.
3. Appropriate units and diagramming
conventions for showing forces and
motion.
4. The process by which Newtons 1st
Law was discovered, developed, and
formalized.
object will continue in its state of
motion.
2. Apply the concepts in Newtons First
Law of Motion to real-world
examples.
3. Create diagrams of problems using
Newtons 1st Law.
4. Evaluate the effects of major scientific
milestones (in this case, Newtons
Laws) on society.

STAGE 2 DETERMINE ACCEPTABLE EVIDENCE

What evidence will show that students understand?

Performance Tasks:

Galileos Balls Experiment

Students will recreate an experiment done by Galileo, where he initially developed the
concepts of friction and inertia. Students will use two facing incline planes at various angles to
discover that a ball rolling down one plane and up the other will go up approximately the
same height, regardless of angle. These results lead Galileo to reason, by extension, that if a
ball only stops when it reaches its original height, than a ball rolled on a plane with no friction
would never stop. Newton drew on Galileos results when formalizing his Laws of Motions.

Toy Car Experiment

This is a three-part experiment in which students will observe what happens in a car crash
simulated with toy cars and pennies for passengers. In the first half of the experiment,
students put a penny on top of their car, let it ride down a short ramp, and crash into a small
barrier at the bottom of the ramp. They will record and graph the distance the penny flies
when starting the car at successive distances up the ramp. In the second part, students replace
the barrier with a resting car and penny to see what happens to both pennies from the crash
(whiplash). In the final part, students see what happens when they increase the mass on the
car. Students will make hypotheses for each section, take measurements, and write up their
results and conclusions.

Newtons First Law Instructional Booklet

Students will write a booklet explaining Newtons First Law to a 6th or 7th grade student. They
must explain the law in their own words, provide real-life examples of how it operates in the
real world, and draw illustrations.
What evidence needs to be collected in light of Stage 1 Desired Results?

Other Evidence (e.g. tests, quizzes, prompts, work samples, observations):

Bellwork
At the beginning of each class period, students will answer one or two questions reviewing
material covered the previous class, and one or two questions in anticipation of the days
lesson. This bellwork is collected in a journal that students can make corrections to and self-
assess their own comprehension, as described under self-assessment and reflection tasks,
below.

Direct Instruction: Newtons First Law Notetaker

Students will complete worksheets that accompany the textbook chapter on Newtons First
Law. These worksheets are created by the textbook company and use critical reading strategies
to walk students through the important points in the text.

Newtons First Law Formative (Quiz)

Students will take a multiple-choice and short answer quiz on Newtons First Law, the
accompanying vocabulary, and its impacts/applications. This exam will be written by me and
be tailored to specific material we covered in class.

Newtons Laws, Forces and Motion Benchmark Exam

At the end of the much broader unit(s) on velocity, acceleration, and Newtons Three Laws,
students will take a benchmark exam set by Vail School District. The material we have
covered in the unit on Newtons First Law will be one component of this exam.

How will students reflect on their performance and assess their grasp of the material?

Self-Assessment and Reflection Tasks:

Bellwork Journal
Students will keep a biweekly journal of bellwork assignments. In addition to reflecting
on the new topic for the day, each days bellwork also includes a quick review of
material covered in the previous class. Students have the opportunity to listen to other
students responses and correct any mistakes they made, edit and make changes to their
own answers.

Closure: Exit Slips

Students will be asked at the end of every lesson to answer one question about the days
content/activity, and to offer one concept that was made particularly clear for them, or
one question they still had about the material. They will turn in their answers as they
leave class.