Newton's First Law: Inertia

Lab Brief #1

🎯 Your mission

Predict it first. Then prove yourself right (or wrong).

⚡ The twist

The opposite of what you expect is often what happens.

What you'll learn

Newton's first law states that an object at rest stays at rest and an object in motion stays in motion unless acted on by an unbalanced force. This is called inertia.

Key words

inertia
How objects keep still or keep moving until a force changes them.
force
A push or pull that can make an object move or stop.
Newton
A unit that measures how much force is pushing or pulling something.

Make a hypothesis first

Predict: what happens if you double the force?

Say your guess out loud — then find out if you were right.

Get ready

🧰 What you need

string

⚠️ Safety first

Small parts and balloon fragments are a choking hazard — keep them away from young children.

Step 1 of 4 · Read

Look at the vocabulary words and write a definition for each in your own words.

Step 2 of 4 · Do

Test Newton's Third Law: blow up a balloon, attach it to a straw on a string, and release. Measure how far it travels with different amounts of air.

Step 3 of 4 · Observe

Compare the before and after states.

Step 4 of 4 · Record

Write your conclusion: did the results match your hypothesis? What would you change next time?

Question 1 of 3

What does Newton's third law state?

How sure are you?😐 maybe

Question 2 of 3

What is inertia?

How sure are you?😐 maybe

Question 3 of 3

What unit is force measured in?

How sure are you?😐 maybe

Mind = blown

🔥 A bolt of lightning is 5 times hotter than the surface of the sun.

Nice work!

You got 0 of 3 right.

Next: Newton's Third Law: Action and Reaction All lessons

🎯

Next Smart Experiment

We'll pick an experiment that matches exactly how you're thinking right now.

✨ More to explore

🌍 Where you see this in real life: This is why airplanes can fly and why rockets reach space.

🏆 Stretch challenge (try it this week): This week, find one thing in your house that turns one kind of energy into another.

👨‍👩‍👧 For the dinner table: “Show me something at home that uses this kind of energy.”

⚡Share card

Share this experiment

Send it to a parent who's looking for a 10-minute kitchen science win.

Newton's First Law: Inertia

Next Smart Experiment

Share this experiment

Newton's First Law: Inertia

Done with science? Try something else

Your Cart (0)