Year 11 Physics

Getting hands-on with Newton's Laws of Motion

In a display of science in action, Year 11 Physics students recently got a hands-on lesson in Newton's Laws of Motion.  The classic tablecloth trick, where a tablecloth is whipped away from under dishes leaving them miraculously still, wasn't just a party trick – it became a way to explore inertia, the tendency of objects to resist changes in motion. In the video, Hamish Saunders quickly removes the tablecloth, the force acting on the dishes remains minimal, allowing them to maintain their position due to inertia. This seemingly simple experiment is a great example of how physics is all around us, waiting to be explored.

~David Macindoe