Isaac Newton's Birthday - 4th January
Newton is regarded as one of the most influential physicists and mathematicians of all time and his actual birthday depends upon which calendar is used. Under the Julian calendar which was being used in England at the time Newton was born on Christmas day 1642. However, under the currently used Gregorian calander he was born on 4th Jan 1643. Either way, he was a game changing contributor to the understanding of many areas of science and mathematics including: forces, motion, gravity, light, fluids and calculus.
This collection highlights some of his work that is applicable to the science and mathematics curriculum for secondary schools.
The Astro Academy: Principia collection, named after Newton's groundbreaking book on his laws of motion and universal gravitation, are a series of videos of the experiments Tim Peake carried out on the International Space station in 2016 demonstrating Newton's laws. Other resources within the collection also look at these laws in more detail including classroom activity ideas for both physics and mathematics lessons for secondary aged pupils
The topics of light and non-Newtonian fluids are also covered for secondary pupils.
Resources
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Episode 211: Newton’s Second Law of Motion
Produced by the Institute of Physics, this learning episode explores Newton’s second law, F = ma. Using simple apparatus, students investigate this law and critically consider the limits of the experiment.
The...
Episode 212: Newton’s Third Law of Motion
Produced by the Institute of Physics, in this learning episode students discuss Newton's third law and use examples to clarify their understanding of its application.
The activities in this learning episode include:
* discussing Newton's third law
* understanding force pairs
* examining...
Gravity
Within this lesson, students will learn about the classical force of gravity, put forward by Newton. They will learn the difference between mass and weight, the equation that relates the two and perform an investigation into the strength of gravity on Earth. Students will then use a 3D model of space to better...
Episode 401: Newton’s Law of Universal Gravitation
In this learning episode, from the Institute of Physics, students discuss and see worked examples that introduce Newton’s law of universal gravitation for point and spherical masses.
Students practice calculations of the force between objects. The meaning of the inverse square law is discussed.
...