Photo of Washington Capitals forward Keith Aucoin (#23) collision with Toronto Maple Leafs forward Nikolai Kulemin (#41)

Is this your first look at the Science of NHL Hockey? Welcome! This installment focuses on Newton’s laws of motion. It’s just one of series of ten video-lesson plan packages developed by NBC Learn in partnership with NSF and NSTA.

What’s your fall-back position for helping students visualize Newton’s laws? Looking for something punchy that will really grab students’ attention? Give this lesson package a try. Colliding hockey players and pucks sailing across the ice give students a new way to look at how Newton’s laws govern the motion of everything!

Consider showing the Science of NHL Hockey video Kinematics as a “bell-ringer” activity to remind students of the basic components of motion. Then delve into Newton’s Three Laws of Motion, where the action will bring Newton’s laws to life.

—Judy Elgin Jensen

Image courtesy of Clyde Caplan

Video: In “Newton’s Three Laws of Motion,” NHL players sprint down the ice and crash into one another while scientists explain how Newton’s laws tell you exactly what is happening.

Middle school lesson: In this lesson, students use a Newton’s cradle, hockey pucks, and more to construct their own demonstrations of Newton’s laws of motion.

High school lesson: In this lesson, students use skateboards and other materials to develop their own demonstrations of Newton’s laws of motions.

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