Passing the medicine ball: Qualitative Testing Experiment

Aim

Test whether two interacting objects exert forces on each other which are the same in magnitude and opposite in direction.

Prior Knowledge

  • Kinematics: position, velocity and acceleration.
  • Graphing skills.
  • Newton's first law.
  • Newton's second law.
  • Reference frames.

Description of the Experiment

In this experiment you will see Eugenia and David on rollerblades throwing a heavy medicine ball to each other. Predict what will happen during each throw and catch using the rule you constructed in the previous two experiments.

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Questions

Based on the three experiments in this section, what can you say about the forces that two interacting objects exert on each other? Can these forces be added to find a net force? Explain your answer.