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Massachusetts · Massachusetts STE · Grade 8

8.MS-PS2-1: Develop a model that demonstrates Newton’s third law involving the…

Develop a model that demonstrates Newton’s third law involving the motion of two colliding objects.

The Massachusetts Science and Technology/Engineering Curriculum Framework (2016) outcome 8.MS-PS2-1 (Physical Sciences) for Grade 8 says: “Develop a model that demonstrates Newton’s third law involving the motion of two colliding objects.” This Fieldbook unit teaches it hands-on, with everyday materials and a printable teacher guide and student sheet for every lesson. Official wording: Massachusetts Science and Technology/Engineering Curriculum Framework (2016).

Forces and Motion: Crash, Push and Stop Grade 8

Why you lurch forward when the bus brakes, how fast a toy car really goes, why heavier carts hit harder, and how to build a crumple zone that saves an egg. Four lessons on inertia, speed, mass and stopping safely.

  • Why does a heavier cart hit harder? 50–60 min

    Teams load a toy car with coins, roll it down the same ramp into a paper cup and measure how far the cup slides. They graph mass against slide distance and explain, with momentum, why a loaded truck is harder to stop than a small car.

  • Can you design a crumple zone? Two periods of 45–60 min (or one 75–90 min block)

    Teams design, build and test a crumple zone that lets a raw egg in a zip bag survive a cart crash into a wall, working to a budget and a size limit. They measure how far each design crushed and use class data to explain why a longer stop means a smaller force.

Printable practice for 8.MS-PS2-1

These pages practise a closely related idea; the match to 8.MS-PS2-1 is partial.

Need just this outcome? Build a custom pack from these pages, with its answer key, in about a minute. Custom packs come with All-access and school licences.

Compared with NGSS: MS-PS2-1 (partial).

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