Newton's First Law Vignette
When you slide a block of wood along the floor, it slows down and stops. If you reduce friction, it does not slow down as fast. What happens if you reduce friction to nearly zero?
Impact on Learning:
A preliminary version of this vignette was studied and found to have a modest effect on learning. See Research Outcomes. The version available here is a re-edited one that will be tested during the next year.
Student Comments:
It goes through step by step and is very helpful with understanding because of the interactive graphs. It is much more helpful than sitting in a classroom for an hour listening to a professor lecture. It is more personal.
I liked that it was short and to the point.
This was fantastic, I'd never seen the First Law demo'd with dry ice before!
The explanations were all very clear, and I loved the interactivity of plotting the graphs using the video frames.
