Newton's First Law
Forces and Motion

Everyday examples of constant speed

Classroom Activity for 11-14 Supporting Physics Teaching

What the Activity is for

The purpose of this activity is for pupils to consider examples of everyday objects travelling at a constant speed and to talk about the forces acting on them.

What to Prepare

  • a set of images to start pupils thinking

What Happens During this Activity

Working in groups of two or three, pupils should come up with as many everyday examples of people or objects travelling at a constant speed as they can think of (e.g. swimmers, runners in a race, a car travelling at 30 mph, parachutist falling). In each case, the group should identify the forces acting on the object and comment on their size and direction. Alternatively, this activity could be supported by a picture resource or video clips with examples of moving objects. Pupils should come to appreciate that many objects do travel at a constant speed and that the forces acting on those objects add to zero.

Newton's First Law
formalises Inertia
includes the quantity Force
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