Physlets: Mechanics Problems: Newton's Laws

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Physlets: Mechanics Problems: Newton's Laws - Momentary Push

written by Wolfgang Christian and Mario Belloni

This item is an applet-based problem for introductory physics on the topic of inertia in motion. A hockey puck moving on a frictionless air hockey table is given a momentary push in the +y direction. What is the motion of the puck after the push? The user chooses from four animations that represent possible results. Physlet-based problems are intended to probe student understanding, elicit misconceptions, and serve as a springboard for discussion. Electronic student response systems (clickers) are often used to allow anonymous "voting" on the correct answer.

Please note that this resource requires at least version 1.1 of Java.

https://webphysics.davidson.edu/physletprob/ch8_problems/ch8_2_Net...

Subjects	Levels	Resource Types
Classical Mechanics - Newton's First Law = Inertia in Motion Education Foundations - Cognition = Cognition Development Education Practices - Active Learning = Cooperative Learning	- High School - Lower Undergraduate	- Instructional Material = Problem/Problem Set - Audio/Visual = Movie/Animation

Intended Users	Formats	Ratings
- Learners - Educators	- application/java - text/html	Currently 0.0/5 Want to rate this material? Login here!

Access Rights:: Free access
Restriction:: © 2001 Davidson College
Additional information is available.
Keywords:: In-class questions, Law of Inertia, Newton's First Law, acceleration, clicker questions, concept questions, inertia, java applets, peer instruction
Record Cloner:: Metadata instance created January 14, 2009 by Caroline Hall
Record Updated:: August 19, 2020 by Lyle Barbato
Last Update when Cataloged:: December 31, 2007
Other Collections:: The Physics Front

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Next Generation Science Standards

Disciplinary Core Ideas (K-12)

Forces and Motion (PS2.A)

The motion of an object is determined by the sum of the forces acting on it; if the total force on the object is not zero, its motion will change. The greater the mass of the object, the greater the force needed to achieve the same change in motion. For any given object, a larger force causes a larger change in motion. (6-8)
All positions of objects and the directions of forces and motions must be described in an arbitrarily chosen reference frame and arbitrarily chosen units of size. In order to share information with other people, these choices must also be shared. (6-8)

AAAS Benchmark Alignments (2008 Version)

4. The Physical Setting

4F. Motion

6-8: 4F/M3a. An unbalanced force acting on an object changes its speed or direction of motion, or both.
9-12: 4F/H8. Any object maintains a constant speed and direction of motion unless an unbalanced outside force acts on it.

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Record Link

<a href="https://www.compadre.org/portal/items/detail.cfm?ID=8465">Christian, Wolfgang, and Mario Belloni. Physlets: Mechanics Problems: Newton's Laws - Momentary Push. December 31, 2007.</a>

AIP Format

W. Christian and M. Belloni, (2001), WWW Document, (https://webphysics.davidson.edu/physletprob/ch8_problems/ch8_2_NetwonsLaws/newton_8.html).

AJP/PRST-PER

W. Christian and M. Belloni, Physlets: Mechanics Problems: Newton's Laws - Momentary Push (2001), <https://webphysics.davidson.edu/physletprob/ch8_problems/ch8_2_NetwonsLaws/newton_8.html>.

APA Format

Christian, W., & Belloni, M. (2007, December 31). Physlets: Mechanics Problems: Newton's Laws - Momentary Push. Retrieved May 1, 2025, from https://webphysics.davidson.edu/physletprob/ch8_problems/ch8_2_NetwonsLaws/newton_8.html

Chicago Format

Christian, Wolfgang, and Mario Belloni. Physlets: Mechanics Problems: Newton's Laws - Momentary Push. December 31, 2007. https://webphysics.davidson.edu/physletprob/ch8_problems/ch8_2_NetwonsLaws/newton_8.html (accessed 1 May 2025).

MLA Format

Christian, Wolfgang, and Mario Belloni. Physlets: Mechanics Problems: Newton's Laws - Momentary Push. 2001. 31 Dec. 2007. 1 May 2025 <https://webphysics.davidson.edu/physletprob/ch8_problems/ch8_2_NetwonsLaws/newton_8.html>.

BibTeX Export Format

@misc{ Author = "Wolfgang Christian and Mario Belloni", Title = {Physlets: Mechanics Problems: Newton's Laws - Momentary Push}, Volume = {2025}, Number = {1 May 2025}, Month = {December 31, 2007}, Year = {2001} }

Refer Export Format

%A Wolfgang Christian %A Mario Belloni %T Physlets: Mechanics Problems: Newton's Laws - Momentary Push %D December 31, 2007 %U https://webphysics.davidson.edu/physletprob/ch8_problems/ch8_2_NetwonsLaws/newton_8.html %O application/java

EndNote Export Format

%0 Electronic Source %A Christian, Wolfgang %A Belloni, Mario %D December 31, 2007 %T Physlets: Mechanics Problems: Newton's Laws - Momentary Push %V 2025 %N 1 May 2025 %8 December 31, 2007 %9 application/java %U https://webphysics.davidson.edu/physletprob/ch8_problems/ch8_2_NetwonsLaws/newton_8.html

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Citation Source Information

The AIP Style presented is based on information from the AIP Style Manual.

The APA Style presented is based on information from APA Style.org: Electronic References.

The Chicago Style presented is based on information from Examples of Chicago-Style Documentation.

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Physlets: Mechanics Problems: Newton's Laws - Momentary Push:

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