Choosing between a medicine ball and a basketball, which will hit the ground first when dropped? Learners watch as visitors at a festival demonstrate in an interview-style video. The narrator asks visitors to guess, then drops the balls. Their jaws drop when they see that both balls land at the same time.

Concepts

gravity, force of gravity, mass, force, inertia

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Additional Tags

science

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Instructional Ideas

• Borrow some balls from the athletic department and try this one in class
• Class members with some experience can calculate the forces at work, draw force diagrams, and have their own fun demonstrating the concept at lunch (administrator permission suggested)

Classroom Considerations

• The resource is perfect for any age group, as the narrator provides clear explanations of the phenomena

• This video is hosted on YouTube

Pros

• The demonstration is simple and impactful
• The video opens doors to a variety of lessons, demonstrations, and other concepts

Cons

• None

Common Core

SL.6.2 SL.7.2 SL.9-10.2