Using the specially-designed LAB-AIDS®/SEPUP track, students investigate inertia by observing a marble’s motion. They observe a marble in motion around a circular track then predict what path it will follow when a section of the track is removed, allowing the marble to roll unconstrained across the table top.

They discover that once the marble leaves the confines of the track, it moves in a straight line path. Students also investigate how changing the mass of the marble affects the motion of the marble on the track. In Part 2 they complete a reading about inertia and Newton’s first law of motion.