Thursday, July 15, 2010
Action/Reaction: Car on Marbles
The ground (cardboard) pushes on the car, and pushes it forward. The car pushes on the ground (cardboard), and pushes it backward.
In the real world, we aren't able to see the car pushing on the ground, because the ground is part of the Earth and is SO much more massive than the car that it doesn't move.
This activity is good for demonstrating the usually invisible forces at work when a vehicle moves. You could use it as a demonstration or as one station in a series of 3rd law activities.