Republic of the Philippines

Department of Education
Region VIII
Teofilo Macaso National High School
Sta. Cruz, Jaro Leyte

PHYSICAL SCIENCE – Grade-12

LEARNING MODULE
Quarter 4, Week-3
Learners Name:______________________________ Score:____________________
Grade & Section___________________________________Date:________________

ARISTOTELIAN, GALILEAN AND NEWTONIAN CONCEPTS OF MOTION

(MELC) S11/12PS-Ivc-46

I. WHAT HAPPENED

SCI-QUIZ: TRUE OR FALSE

Read each of the statements carefully. Write TRUE if the statement is correct and
FALSE if the statement is wrong. Answer in your notebook.

1. According to Galileo heavier objects fall faster than lighter ones.

2. In the absence of air resistance, a dry cotton ball would fall faster than a stone.
3. In a vacuum, a feather falls faster than a metal ball.
4. In Galileo’s experiment he found out that the steeper the inclined plane , the lesser is
the acceleration
5. One of Galileo’s observation was that the maximum acceleration of the rolling ball
was reached when the inclined plane was positioned vertically as if the ball was simply
falling.
6. According to Galileo the ball would decrease in speed when rolling in a horizontal
plane.
7. Law of inertia states that gravity is needed in order for a body to move.
8. Galileo observed that a ball released down from an inclined plane will reach exactly
the same height as it simultaneously rolls up in another inclined plane.
9. According to Galileo, a ball rolling in a horizontal plane would keep moving
considering that friction is neglected.
10. Galileo’s assertion and Newton’s inertia are similar, the only difference is the
concept of force.
II. WHAT I NEED TO KNOW
DISCUSSION:

ARISTOTELIAN AND GALILEAN CONCEPTIONS OF VERTICAL, HORIZONTAL

AND PROJECTILE MOTION

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Sample timeline of astronomers and early physicists during the time of Galileo.

Based from the photo above, our current understanding on the physics of motion
did not happen overnight. Instead, it gradually developed as philosophers take up
previously held philosophies and improve on it or give critique identifying
possible weakness or inconsistencies with observations. Galileo’s two major
contributions to modern physics were the ‘Law of Falling Bodies’ and the ‘Law of
Inertia’. Inertial motion of an object means that this motion can solely be
changed by forces acting upon it. Gravity accelerates all objects equally
regardless of their masses or the materials from which they are made and this is
a cornerstone of modern physics. Galileo discovered the law of inertia, but he
did not name it.

https://www.qsstudy.com/physics/gali l https://www.slideshare.net/abirmingham/ c h-22 1-th e -scientifi c -

eo s-thre e -law s-falling -bodie s revolutio n-4478838 0

Four types of the terrestrial motion

1. Alteration — simply chemical or physical changes
2. vertical or natural local motion
3. horizontal or violent motion

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4. celestial motion.

a. He was able to slow down the “fall” using ramps rather than viscous materials
as Aristotle did resulting to significantly different conclusions related to the “rate
of fall”.
b. He correctly measured motion in two independent directions (horizontal and
vertical) and deduced that the “rate of fall” is better measured in terms of
downward acceleration.
c. Used geometry to provide better description (kinematics) of projectile motion
whereby horizontal motion has zero acceleration (constant speed horizontally)
and content vertical acceleration.

Galileo's Experiment of Falling

Bodies:
Galileo climbed all of 352 steps of the Leaning
Tower of Pisa where he took up with him two
balls each with a different weight. Once he was
at the top, he dropped both balls to see which
would land first. Even though their weights were
not the same, they hit the ground at the same
time. From this experiment, Galileo found that
objects fall to the ground at the same rate
(regardless of weight) unless things like air
resistance change the rate.

Violent Motion:
This idea said that any motion that
requires a force is a Violent Motion. For
example, pushing a book along a table,
or lifting a book.

The infamous Leaning Tower of Pisa

experiment of Galileo may not be true but only
likely to have been done by Galileo. Other
philosophers before him mentioned a very
similar observation.

Galileo allegedly demonstrated the equal rate of fall of objects differing in weight.
The philosophical argument reductio ad absurdum method used by
Galileo in showing that the Aristotelian proposal that heavier objects fall at the
same rate must be false and that the only plausible explanation is that all objects

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fall at the same rate. Galileo instead slowed down the “fall” using ramp. By plotting
the position against time, and at the same time increasing the slope, one can
deduce that the resulting “rate of fall” (or acceleration) approaches a single value.

UNIFORM ACCELERATION OF OBJECTS IN A VACUUM

The notion on uniform acceleration of objects in a vacuum would be better

understood if we would first recall or understand what is acceleration and what is
a vacuum.
Acceleration is a vector quantity that is defined as the rate at which an object
changes its velocity. An object is accelerating if it is changing its velocity.

Example: The data below are representative of a northward-moving accelerating

object. The velocity is changing over the course of time. In fact, the velocity is
changing by a constant amount - 10 m/s - in each second of time. Anytime an
object's velocity is changing, the object is said to be accelerating - it has an
acceleration.
Table 1: Uniform Accelerated Motion
Time elapsed
Velocity

0s 0 m/s, north
1s 10 m/s, north
2s 20 m/s, north
3s 30 m/s, north
4s 40 m/s, north
5s 50 m/s, north

Objects that fall through a vacuum is subjected to only one external force, the
gravitational force, expressed as the weight of the object. The weight equation
defines the weight W to be equal to the mass of the object m times the
gravitational acceleration g:

W=m*g

the value of g is 9.8 meters per square second on the surface of the earth. The
gravitational acceleration g decreases with the square of the distance from the
center of the earth. If an object is moved by gravity alone, is called free falling. If
the object falls through the atmosphere, there is an additional drag force acting on
it. It could be air resistance or any other factors.

The motion of any moving object is described by Newton's Second Law of Motion,
force F equals mass m times acceleration a:

F=m*a

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We can do a little algebra and solve for the acceleration of the object in terms of
the net external force and the mass of the object:

a=F/m

For a free - falling object, the net external force is just the weight of the object:

F=W

Substituting into the second law equation gives:

a = W / m = (m * g) / m = g

The acceleration of the object equals the gravitational acceleration. The mass, size,
and shape of the object are not a factor in describing the motion of the object. All
objects, regardless of size, shape or weight, fall freely with the same acceleration. In a
vacuum, a cotton ball falls at the same rate as a metal ball. Knowing the acceleration,
we can determine the velocity and location of any free falling object at any time.

Such wonderful observation that all objects fall with the same acceleration in a vacuum
was first proposed by Galileo Galilei nearly 400 years ago.

Galileo conducted experiments

using a ball on an inclined plane
to determine the relationship
between the time and distance
traveled. He found that the
distance depended on the
square of the time and that the
velocity increased as the ball
moved down the incline. The
relationship was the same
regardless of the mass of the ball used in the experiment. The experiment was
successful because he was using a ball for the falling object and the friction between
the ball and the plane was much smaller than the gravitational force. He knew that
falling objects increase their speed as they go down. This change in speed is
acceleration. However, Galileo did not have any equipment

to measure this change, so what he did is he used inclined planes to lessen the
acceleration of the moving bodies. Through such inclined plane he was able to
figure out the change in speed.

Here are his observations:

*A ball rolling down an

inclined plane will increase its
speed by the same value after
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every second. For instance, the speed of a rolling ball was found to increase by 5
m/s every second. This means that the rolling ball would have the following
speeds for every given second.
Note: The steeper the inclined plane, the more is the acceleration.
The maximum acceleration of the rolling ball was reached when the inclined
plane was positioned vertically as if the ball is simply falling.

These things have lead Galileo to conclude that regardless of the mass and air
resistance, falling objects would always have uniform acceleration.

NEWTON’S INERTIA AND GALILEO’S ASSERTION

What is Galileo’s assertion on motion?

Galileo Galilei was one of those who initiated the concept of inertia before
Newton came up with the “law of Inertia”. In his experiment,

he found out that when a ball rolls down an inclined plane, its speed maximizes or
increases; and decreases speed when it rolls upward an inclined plane. In such
scenario where the ball decreases speed when going up a plane and increases
speed when going down respectively, gravity is taking effect.
The ball rolling down the inclined plane was pulled by gravity, causing the speed
to increase. The opposite happened when the ball was rolling up the inclined
plane. It was in here where he theorized “what would probably happen if the ball
is rolling in a horizontal plane?”
Galileo then made the experiment and found out that the ball would continue
moving, but then eventually stopped because of the effect of friction.
On his set up, Galileo theorized that the ball rolling on a floor would probably
keep moving with constant velocity if the friction between the floor and ball is
neglected.
It would continue moving unless a push or a pull disturbs the state of motion.
Galileo called this tendency of materials to resist change in their state of motion
as inertia.
It is in his assertion where Newton actually based his concepts of his first law of
motion. They both implied that no force is needed to keep the motion of an object
and the object’s inertia would keep it from changing its state of motion.

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There is actually a little difference. The difference is in the concept of force.
Galileo was aware about friction but was not able to consider the concept of force.
He focused on the term 'push and pull' to indicate forces but it was Sir Isaac
Newton who defined the concept of force and its relation to motion.
Newton's first law states that every object will remain at rest or in uniform motion
in a straight line unless compelled to change its state by the action of an external
force. This is normally taken as the definition of inertia. The key point here is that
if there is no net force acting on an object (if all the external forces cancel each
other out) then the object will maintain a constant velocity. If that velocity is
zero, then the object remains at rest. If an external force is applied, the velocity
will change because of the force.

Performance Task

SCI-ACTIVITY: FALLING BODIES

Materials:
a) One coin
b) a piece of paper (may be a paper bill)

Directions: A mini Leaning Tower of Pisa experiment may be done using a piece
of paper (or paper bill) and a coin. Obviously, one is lighter than another. In their
usual state, when a paper (or bill) and a coin are released from rest in midair at
the same level, the coin will reach the ground first, showing that Aristotelian
physics is right.

However, when the paper is crumpled the two will strike the ground at the
same time, showing that Galileo’s conclusions are right.

Now to better understand this, you perform this activity and determine
possible special cases. For example, would the conclusion be the same if it’s
done in greater height? You write your observation in your activity notebook.

WARNING: Experiments higher than one floor height may pose danger to health
or life, so it is strictly prohibited. Notice that a standing height or even standing on
a chair or table should be enough for the activity’s objective.

III. WHAT I HAVE LEARNED

TRUE OR FALSE

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Directions: Read each of the statements carefully. Write TRUE if the statement is
true and write FALSE if the statement is false. Do this in your activity notebook.

1. When an object is stationary, all of the forces acting on it are balanced.

2. The only way to slow down a moving object is to apply a force to it.
3. An object in motion will slow down if acted on by an force in the direction of
motion.
4. According to Galileo the ball would decrease in speed when rolling in a
horizontal plane.
5. Law of inertia states that gravity is needed in order for a body to move.
6. Galileo observed that a ball released down from an inclined plane will
reached exactly the same height as it simultaneously rolls up in another
inclined plane.
7. According to Galileo, heavier objects fall faster than lighter ones.
8. In the absence of air resistance, a dry cotton ball would fall faster than a
stone.
9. In a vacuum, a feather falls faster than a metal ball.

10-15. Give the 3 observations of Galileo about his experiment / set up.
And explain each. ( two points each)

Observations Explanation

Prepared by:

Physical Science 12 Teacher

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