Newton's first law of motion, often called the law of inertia, states that an object at rest stays at rest, and an object in motion stays in motion with the same speed and in the same direction unless acted upon by an unbalanced external force.
External forces that athletes use: gravity, friction, lift
External forces athletes need to overcome: gravity, air resistance, friction
Pick a sport that you can watch in the Winter Olympics.
Watch a few competitions of that sport.
Write down: When is the athlete not moving? When is the athlete moving?
Notice how the athlete starts their motion. What is the external force applied to start the motion?
Notice how the athlete stops their motion. What external force are they using to stop their motion?
Experiment: Stack two equal sized coins or washers on top of each other. Slide a third coin into the bottom of the stack. Do all the coins move? Why does only the bottom coin move out of the stack.
Pile three or four equal sized coins or washers into a stack. Slide one coin or washer into the bottom of the stack. How many coins moved out of the stack? Why?
Only the coin/washer that has the force applied (the bottom one) will move.
How does the athlete in your sport use this?
Watch the special from NBC about Short track to explain how athletes understand this law of motion: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hfXvIr7fFes
Newton's first law of motion, often called the law of inertia, states that an object at rest stays at rest, and an object in motion stays in motion with the same speed and in the same direction unless acted upon by an unbalanced external force.
External forces that athletes use: gravity, friction, lift
External forces athletes need to overcome: gravity, air resistance, friction
Pick a sport that you can watch in the Winter Olympics.
Watch a few competitions of that sport.
Write down: When is the athlete not moving? When is the athlete moving?
Notice how the athlete starts their motion. What is the external force applied to start the motion?
Notice how the athlete stops their motion. What external force are they using to stop their motion?
Experiment: Stack two equal sized coins or washers on top of each other. Slide a third coin into the bottom of the stack. Do all the coins move? Why does only the bottom coin move out of the stack.
Pile three or four equal sized coins or washers into a stack. Slide one coin or washer into the bottom of the stack. How many coins moved out of the stack? Why?
Only the coin/washer that has the force applied (the bottom one) will move.
How does the athlete in your sport use this?
Watch the special from NBC about Short track to explain how athletes understand this law of motion: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hfXvIr7fFes
