The purpose of this experiment is to clearly demonstrate Newton's first law "An object in motion, will remain in motion unless acted upon by an external force"
Teacher tips:
The key to effectively teaching Newton's first law is to distinguish between:
Inertia - a clear understanding of inertia - resistance to change (equivalent to mass in linear motion) is required for Newton's first law. Please see the many inertia demos which can be found on the Y12 Inertia and Y13 inertia pages.
Demo set 2 (objects in motion):
spin a bob on the end of a string around your head and ask if I let this go where will it go?
same idea with Cat on fan:
The point on an object in motion remaining in motion is often best seen with astronauts in the space station. Here is an ok video, with some good ideas of demos.
Another example is the use or lack of use of seat belts in cars:
Or this animation from www.physicsclassroom.com
Balloons in a car:
Green balloon = Helium
Red balloon = air
Resources
A great word document (by college of Education) with a set of experiments to demonstrate all 3 laws:
Year 12 Mechanics Newton's First Law Experiments:
Purpose:
Teacher tips:
Demo set 1 (objects at rest):
Demo set 2 (objects in motion):
Resources
Model data:
......References / other comments: