Armageddon

Title: Armageddon (1998)

Concept featured in film: Newton's 3rd Law of Motion

Location of clip:

DVD: 1:08:00 - 1:10:25

Summary of clip: The clip shows the astronauts and oil drillers taking off in the two shuttles, The Freedom and The Independence, on their way to meet the asteroid. When the countdown is complete, the rockets fire their engines and both shuttles take off into space.

Connection of flickclip to the concept: Newton's 3rd law of motion states that forces always occur in pairs that are equal in force and opposite in direction, for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. This clip shows that the force of the rocket propulsion coming out of the back of the rocket helps force it into the air. It also shows that since there is a force being applied to the ground by the rocket fire the ground is applying a force to the rocket to help propel it into space.

Suggestions to Teachers:

1. Suggested questions for students when viewing the clip:

a. What is Newton's 3rd law of motion?
b. How does Newton's 3rd law of motion help the rocket get into space?
c. What are the action and reaction force pairs in the scene?

2. Students could make posters to display other action and reaction force pairs in their daily lives. The posters could be placed around the classroom so students can see examples of how Newton's 3rd law affects them daily.