Physics in a Bag - Grades 1-2

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Pennies in Orbit - Newton's 1st Law of Motion
Place a penny in a round balloon. Blow up the balloon and tie it closed. Hold the balloon in two hands and rotate quickly. The penny will spin along the inside of the balloon, even after you stop spinning the balloon. According to the scientist, Sir Isaac Newton, an object in motion will remain in motion, in a straight line, unless acted upon by a force. The penny, in motion, moves in a straight line until it meets the edge of the balloon and can go no farther. It moves in a circle inside the balloon until stopped by friction and gravity.

Crazy Card - Newton's 1st Law of Motion, Inertia
Take a clear plastic cup and place an index card across the top.  Place a penny on top of the card.  Flick the card rapidly with your finger so that it flies across and off the cup.  The penny will fall directly into the cup.
This activity illustrates the 1st Law of Motion, or Inertia, that states that an object at rest will remain at rest unless acted upon by a force.  The penny is an object at rest and only the card is in motion.

Jumping Penny - Bernoulli Effect
Place the penny in front of the pencil. Blow briskly over the top of the penny. It will “jump” over the pencil. According to the scientist Bernoulli, fast moving air has lower pressure than slow moving air. The low pressure over the top of the penny causes it to rise over the pencil. This is the principal that explains why airplanes fly.

Trapeze Paper Clip - Gravity in Motion
Cut a string 2 feet long. Tie a small paper clip to one end and 2 washers to the other. Drape the washer end over the pencil, hanging over a few inches. Hold the pencil with one hand. Hold the string by the paper clip with the other hand horizontally out from the pencil. Release the paper clip. The string will wrap around the pencil instead of falling over the edge of the pencil. Both the washers and the clip are pulled down by gravity. The washer pulls straight down, and the clip goes down in an arc as it is connected to the string. Because the washer has the greater mass and the greater momentum, it pulls the clip.

Squawking Chicken Cups - Sound and Vibration
Take a paper cup and a 12 inch string. Attach one end of the string through a hole in the bottom of the cup and fasten it on the outside of the cup with a paper clip. Moisten the string and pull it through your fingers, making a squawking sound. The vibration of the string is amplified by the vibrating air inside the cup.

Whirlygigs - Air Mass, Air Resistance, Balance, and Motion
With scissors, cut out the whirlygig figure following the directions on the sheet. Attach a small paper clip to the bottom, throw it, and see what happens. Try putting more or fewer paper clips on the whirlygig and in different positions.