Mississippi Science PHY.2.7
The Standard
- PHY.2
- Students will develop an understanding of concepts related to Newtonian dynamics.
Analyze real-world applications to draw conclusions about Newton’s three laws of motion using online simulations, probe systems, and/or laboratory experiences.
2026 Mississippi College- and Career-Readiness Standards for Science · Newton’s Laws
Teacher's field guide
What This Standard Means
What Students Need to Do
- Students use cart trials, force probes, or a simulation to test how forces and mass change motion. They explain motion when forces balance and identify equal, opposite forces acting on different objects.
What Mastery Looks Like
- Given data from a cart trial, a student predicts how changing mass or force changes acceleration. They explain why a cart slows on a rough surface and label the forces each object exerts during a collision.
Common Misconceptions
- Students may think a moving cart needs a forward force to keep moving. They may also think a heavier cart accelerates faster under the same push, or that collision forces cancel because they act on the same object.
How to Assess It
- On an exit ticket, describe a cart pushed along a low-friction track, released, then stopped by a wall. Ask students to explain its motion after release, how doubling the push would change its acceleration, and which object exerts each force at impact.
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
Pull a toy cart at the same spring-scale reading, first empty, then loaded with washers; time each trip across one meter.
Ask why a rolling cart stops after you let go if moving objects keep moving; have students name friction and sketch the forces.
Give pairs cards showing an air-hockey puck coasting, a cart accelerating, and a swimmer pushing a wall; match each to a law.
Show a photo of a seat belt holding a passenger during braking; students explain the passenger's motion and the belt's force.
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Printable PHY.2.7 Worksheet
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Related Standards
- PHY.2.5
Use mathematical and computational analysis to derive simple equations of motion for various systems using Newton’s second law (e.g., net force equations).
- PHY.3.3
Through real-world applications, draw conclusions about mechanical potential energy and kinetic energy using online simulations and/or laboratory experiences.
- P.6.6
Students will demonstrate an understanding of Newton’s laws of motion using real world models and examples.
- PHS.5.4
Use mathematical and computational analyses to show the relationships among force, mass, and acceleration (i.e., Newton’s second law).
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