Motion: Introduction

Motion is one of the key topics in physics. Everything in the universe moves. It might only be a small amount of movement and very very slow, but movement does happen. Don't forget that even if you appear to be standing still, the Earth is moving around the Sun, and the Sun is moving around our galaxy. The movement never stops. Acceleration is a twist on the idea of velocity. There are two main ideas when you study mechanics. There are also more complex movements when an object's direction is changing. In order to really understand motion, you have to think about forces, acceleration, energy, work, and mass. Or search the sites for a specific topic.

Acceleration - Physics for Kids! Acceleration is a way to measure how fast something is speeding up. Suppose you are riding your bike. You start out going very slowly, hardly pedaling at all. If you stop pedaling now, friction will work on your bike tires (and you'll have friction from the air, too), and you'll soon start to go slower. One important cause of acceleration is gravity. The acceleration of Earth's gravity will speed you up at about 9.8 meters per second per second (9.8 m/s2, or 9.8 meters per second squared). Standing on the cliff before you jump, you're going zero meters/second. You can use acceleration to find out the mass of an object, because force = mass x acceleration. Learn by doing - Using bikes to work with the physics of motion To find out more about acceleration, check out these books from Amazon.com or from your library: Or check out this link to the Encyclopedia Britannica's article on accleration. Movement Space Physics Chemistry Biology Science for Kids home page History for Kids home page or

Motion: Forces Forces are a big part of physics. Physicists devote a lot of time to the study of forces that are found everywhere in the universe. The forces could be big, such as the pull of a star on a planet. The forces could also be very small, such as the pull of a nucleus on an electron. Forces are acting everywhere in the universe at all times. If you were a ball sitting on a field and someone kicked you, a force would have acted on you. Let's look at the forces acting on that soccer ball before you kicked it. If there is more than one force acting on an object, the forces can be added up if they act in the same direction, or subtracted if they act in opposition. There is one totally important formula when it comes to forces, F = ma. Or search the sites for a specific topic. Galileo Drops the Ball - Virtual Experiment In around 1590 Galileo Galilei (1564-1642) climbed up the Leaning Tower of Pisa and dropped some balls to the ground. Two balls of different masses, but of similar shape and density that were released together hit the ground at the same time. Until then it was commonly believed that heavy things fall faster than light things. Many people still believe this, and casual observation of everyday phenomena often does tend to confirm this view. If you drop a brick and a feather at the same time the brick will probably hit the ground first. Galileo’s discovery is important in understanding how parachutes work. Click on the image to the left to try Galileo’s experiment for yourself. Find out more about Galileo Galilei.

Workshops -- Science in Focus: Force and Motion Explore science concepts in force and motion and come away with a deeper understanding that will help you engage your students in their own explorations. With science and education experts as your guides, learn more about gravity, friction, air resistance, magnetism, and tension through activities, discussions, and demonstrations. Extensive footage shot in real classrooms shows students learning and building on ideas as they explore the relationships among motion, force, size, mass, and speed. As you watch the students develop understanding through activities that connect science concepts to real-world phenomena, you will be asked to think about your own ideas on force and motion and compare them to what you observe. Watch for the symbol on the workshop video, then click the button below for that workshop, to find the corresponding Web Highlights.