Forces and Motion

Anchoring Phenomenon: 
How did the Dragon spacecraft
return safely to Earth in
August?

Lisa Maddox and Courtney White

Newton’s Second Law
DCI:  Disciplinary Core Ideas
• HS-PS2-1 PS2.A Newton’s second law accurately predicts changes in
the motion of macroscopic objects.

Concept: Newton’s Second Law

• F= ma
• W=mg
Skills:
• Apply and solve mathematical equations for objects
subject to a net unbalanced force, such as a falling
object, an object rolling down a ramp, or a moving object 
Product:
• Tables and graphs of position or velocity as a function of
time for objects subject to a net unbalanced force, such
as a falling object.
Engineering Design
DCI: Disciplinary Core Ideas
• HS-PS2-3 PS2.A If a system interacts with objects outside itself, the total momentum of the system
can change; however, any such change is balanced by changes in the momentum of objects
outside the system.
• HS-PS2-3A EST1.A  Criteria and constraints also include satisfying any requirements set by society,
such as taking issues of risk mitigation into account, and they should be quantified to the extent
possible and stated in such a way that one can tell if a given design meets them. (secondary)
• HS-PS2-3 ETS1.C Optimizing the Design Solution. Criteria may need to be broken down into
simpler ones that can be approached systematically, and decisions about the priority of certain
criteria over others 9tradeoffs) may be needed (secondary).

Concept: Engineering Design

• Every time any object moves in the universe, the concept of forces in motion is
at play
Skills:
• Research different examples of how engineers use forces in motion to create
things
• Design a device to minimize the force on the Dragon capsule using a
parachute during its collision with the ocean 
Product:
• A video presentation of the engineering design for preventing the Dragon
capsule from being damaged when hitting the ocean
Conservation of
Momentum

DCI: Disciplinary Core Ideas

• HS-PS2-2 PS2.A
• Momentum is defined for a particular frame of reference; it is the mass
times the velocity of the object.
• If a system interacts with objects outside itself, the total momentum of
the system can change; however, any such change is balanced by
changes in the momentum of objects outside the system.
Concept: Conservation of Momentum
• Total momentum of a system of objects is conserved
when there is no net force on the system.
Skills:
• Calculate the momentum for a variety of systems
• Design an experiment to demonstrate how momentum
is conserved when two objects interact. 
Product:
• Mathematical model to describe the physical interaction
of 2 objects (Dragon and ocean) in terms of the change
of momentum as a result of their interaction.