3.2.6-8.G: Apply Newton’s Third Law to design a solution to a problem involving…
Apply Newton’s Third Law to design a solution to a problem involving the motion of two colliding objects.
The Pennsylvania Science, Technology & Engineering, Environmental Literacy & Sustainability (STEELS) Standards outcome 3.2.6-8.G (Physical Sciences) for Grades 6–8 says: “Apply Newton’s Third Law to design a solution to a problem 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: Pennsylvania Science, Technology & Engineering, Environmental Literacy & Sustainability (STEELS) Standards.
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 3.2.6-8.G
- Forces and Motion: Crash, Push and Stop workbook included with the unit
4 practice pages, 4 readings, 1 word wall, 1 English-support page, 1 unit review, 1 unit test, with answer keys.
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Compared with NGSS: MS-PS2-1.
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