Republic of the Philippines

PARTIDO STATE UNIVERSITY

Camarines Sur

Caramoan Campus
LABORATORY ACTIVITY
NEWTON’s LAW OF MOTION

Name of student: __________________________________________________________

Course Code: I-3 Name of Faculty: Diana Rose R. Pesimo
Course Title: General Physics
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These activities will help you learn all about Newton’s First Law of Motion.

Newton’s First Law of Motion

In the absence of a net force, a body at rest remains at rest, and a
body in motion remains in motion indefinitely along the same
straight line.

ACTIVITY NO. 2

Materials needed:
• Two identical glass or plastic bottle
• Sand or soil to fill one of the jars
• Water to fill the other jar
• Wooden Plank or any boards
• Measuring Instrument (i.e. measuring tape, ruler, meter stick)
Procedure

1. Fill one bottle with sand or soil. Pack it tightly.

2. Fill the other bottle with water
3. Put lids on both of the bottles. Lids should be on tight.
4. Create an inclined plane by using a wooden plank or any board and an object with at least
2.5” (i.e. stacks of books, brick, hollow blocks) see figure below.
5. Place each jar on its side and release both from the top of the “ramps” at exactly the same
time.
6. In the table below, record how far each jar rolled. Do not measure the binder itself, just
the
distance from the end of the plank/board to where each jar actually stopped.
7. Repeat the process in different identified surface indicated in the table below.
8. Fill in the Table with your results for each race.
 Republic of the Philippines
PARTIDO STATE UNIVERSITY
Camarines Sur

How far did the empty How far did the filled jar
Race Surface
jar travel? travel?
1 Cement Floor
2 Bed
3 Linoleum
4 Ground
Other ( _________ )
5
(i.e., tile floor)

Examine your data to look for trends and record your observations in this activity sheet. This will
prepare you for the questions that follow. For example, determine if one jar always rolled farther
than the other. Look to see which jar rolled farthest on a given surface. Try to figure out why you
got the results you did for each jar on each surface.

Think About It

Write the answers to the following questions in your Newton’s Lawbook.

1. Did the results depend on whether the jar was filled with sand/soil versus water? If so, in what
way?

2. Did the results depend on the kind of surface you used? If so, in what way?

3. What can you say about a body’s tendency to maintain its status quo – its inertia?
 Republic of the Philippines
PARTIDO STATE UNIVERSITY
Camarines Sur

In this activity, you will learn about Newton’s Second Law of Motion

Newton’s Second Law of Motion

The acceleration of an object is directly proportional to the net force
and inversely proportional to its mass

Materials needed:
• 5 small rocks/pebbles (with same sizes)
• Piece of paper
• Ruler/meter stick/measuring tape
• 2 Sticks of the same length (Popsicle sticks, if available)
• 3 Rubber Band (string if not available)
• 1 plastic spoon
• small block of wood or anything that is similar

Procedure

1. Get the sticks of the same sizes, a rubber band/string, and a small block of wood. These
will be the materials to build your own catapult. To do this, tie the two sticks at the end
by using a rubber band or a string. Make sure that it is tight. Next, place the small
wooden block or similar to it, in between the tied two sticks and secure it by using the
rubber band or string. Then, attach the plastic spoon over the tied sticks (see the figure
below).

2. Prepare the small rocks/pebbles. For the piece of paper, cut it into 1x1 inch and make a
 Republic of the Philippines
PARTIDO STATE UNIVERSITY
Camarines Sur

ball by crumpling it in a circle.

3. Lay down your measuring tool (ruler or measuring tape or meter stick) in the table and
secure it. Place your improvised catapult at the top of the measuring tool or at 0 inches.
4. Once steps 1-3 are done, place the small rocks/pebbles and crumpled paper on the plastic
spoon one by one and launch it by pushing the spoon downward. Get the measurement of
where the object landed. Record it in the activity sheet below

ACTIVITY SHEET

Measurement (in cm)

Object
1 2 3 4 5 Average distance

Small
Rock/Pebbles
Crumpled
paper

Think About It

1. Which of the two objects is much heavier without using any weighing scale? Did the
mass of the object affect the distance it traveled?

2. Which of the two objects has a greater distance? Why?

 Republic of the Philippines
PARTIDO STATE UNIVERSITY
Camarines Sur

3. How did this experiment showcase the 2nd law of motion?

NOTE: RECORD YOURSELF WHILE DOING THE EXPERIMENT AND SUBMIT THIS IN
OUR MOODLE.