Fan Cart Lab (Newton's Laws of Motion)

Big Question:
What is the relationship between Mass, Force, and Acceleration?

Introduction:
This week in physics we were able to learn about three very prevalent laws in our universe; Newton's laws of Motion!  To begin to understand this we needed to get some hands on experience, so Ms. Tye let us relax on a late Thursday afternoon and let us tackle some physics in the gym foyer!  We used some awesome hover cars that eliminated friction and combined this with some diagramming to help us realize why things happen the way they do.  Following that, in the second lab, we collided a fan cart with aluminum on the force probe.  After each of the five trials using a different mass, we used the wicked smart LoggerPro to calculate our slope which then equated acceleration. Once that was completed, we were able to derive the equation F=ma. 

Understanding this stuff
OK.  Now to really discern what this means we need to recap these three individual laws:

Newtons 1st Law of Motion: 
1. An object at rest or traveling at a constant speed will continue to do so, unless a net force acts on it.
2. An object moving at a constant speed or at rest has no net force acting on it.

Newtons 2nd Law of Motion:
-the amount that an object accelerates depends on the object's mass and the net force it experiences

Netwon's 3rd Law of Motion: 
Whenever two objects happen to interact, they each exert an equal but opposite force on the other.
The force that one object feels is the same type of force that the object feels, the same amount/magnitude of force that the other one feels, and the opposite direction of the force that the other object feels.
Example given in class: A mosquito crashes into a truck.  They exert equal but opposite force on each other.

Real World Connection:
A man that really understands Newton's Law of Motion is Cristiano Ronaldo.  Though I don't like him (he plays for Real Madrid and I like Barcelona, which is the biggest rivalry in soccer) I have to admit the man is a darn good physicist in his own right.  He understands how to strike the ball perfectly which prevents this amazing goal against Levante from becoming an NFL-esque field goal into the 15th row of the stands.  The strike of the ball itself incorporates the latter two of Newton's laws, while the dip into the back of the net is a perfect example of Newton's first law of Motion.  Enjoy!