Intro to Forces activities
A few years ago I changed the order of activities and my introduction notes for Newton's Laws in my college prep physics class and it has been a lot of fun. We do a few days of activities and labs before I even start notes, this is day 1. I start off by asking students to take some blue painter's tape and make part of a track on the floor that goes all the way around the room. They get this image for inspiration and they end up adding a lot of difficult turns, loops, etc. I don't tell students why yet, but if they ask I just tell them we will need it later. Then each group gets a lab basket that has two tennis balls in it. I ask them to make observations. The first observation is usually that when they pick them up, they are surprised to find one tennis ball is quite heavy compared to the other. I give students this prompt: You have two tennis balls, not to be thrown. Holding them in your hands, what do you notice that is different about them? Hold them a few inches above...