Testing Newton’s Law of Inertia

By Danise Johnson

Hi! My name is Danise and I'm in Mrs. Rousakis’s 5th grade room 219.  My class did an experiment to test Inertia.  This is Isaac Newton’s law that says something at rest likes to stay at rest, and something moving likes to keep moving.  

The procedures of making the egg fall in the cup were simple.  We placed a plastic cup on a flat surface. Then we placed an aluminum pan on top of the cup. After that, we placed an empty toilet paper roll on top of the pan.  Lastly we placed a plastic egg on top of the toilet roll.  Now, the experiment was set up.  

We each applied force on the pan to land the egg in the cup. We Applied force because we pushed the pan. By pushing the pan we applied force to the pan, so it got that signal to give force for the egg to fall in the cup. The result was that on the first attempt, the egg fell right into the cup because we applied force to the pan. On the second attempt everything fell down. According to Newton's Law Of Inertia, an object at rest wants to stay at rest, and an object in motion wants to stay in motion. 

In our experiment, the egg was at rest on the toilet paper roll. When force was applied on the pan, the pan and toilet paper roll were being pushed away.   They both flew to the ground.  The egg fell straight into the plastic cup. The amount of force applied to the pan makes a difference.  If we did not hit the pan hard and fast enough, everything would be knocked over and the egg would not fall straight down into the cup.   

This was a fun activity because we got suckers at the end!  We had a lot of fun.  I think you should try it at home!