Background
Newton’s law of motion consists of four different statements about the behavior of bodies at rest or motion and their result when forces act on it. The first law of motion describes the characteristic of a body in a state of rest or one in a uniform motion. It states that a body in a state of rest or one in uniform motion, will continue to remain in that state unless acted upon by some external force. This tendency of a body is referred to as it’s inertia.
Discrepant Event: Bottle and Coin
The video clip below, taken from Youtube demonstrates a well-known party trick. A coin is placed on a card and placed over the mouth of a bottle. Watch the video to see what happens when the card is flicked away with a finger.
And the question is: Why did the coin drop into the bottle and not fly off with the card?
Concepts involved:
- Newton’s first law of motion, inertia, motion, rest, (Additional concepts: weight, friction).
