Lincoln Students Learn Physics with Interactive Science Assembly

Students in grades K-5 at Lincoln Center had fun with physics during an interactive science assembly, February 1, 2023. The students learned about Sir Isaac Newton, his theory of gravity, and his three laws of motion from Mobile Ed Productions, Forces and Motion Program.

1. The law of Inertia: An object in motion, stays in motion, unless it is acted upon by a force. Students learned about inertia with the classic tablecloth pull trick. Student volunteers had the chance to try the trick themselves.
2. Force = mass x acceleration: The acceleration of an object is directly related to the net force and inversely related to its mass. To demonstrate this law, students made a real-life version of a popular game: Angry Birds. 
3. The law of action and reaction: Every action has an equal and opposite reaction. This law was showcased using Newton’s cradle and a rocket launch.

They also learned about linear motion, energy: kinetic energy and potential energy, and rotational forces: centripetal force and gyroscopic stability. To demonstrate force, the students saw how a spinning bicycle wheel can cause movement simply by changing its angle when held. At the end students were able to try some of the experiments themselves if they answered the question of which Newton’s Law the experiment represents.