By: Miguel Kubota and Judisthira Effendy Physics of potatoes By: Miguel Kubota and Judisthira Effendy

Newton’s first law An object in motion stays in motion. An object at rest stays at rest unless acted on by an outside force.

Newton’s first law, 2 Ff (fluid) If you drop a potato, it will fall through the air with balanced forces (if it is the same speed). When it hits the sofa (the unbalanced force) it will stop the potato. FN Fg Fg

Newton’s first law, 3 At first, the potato has GPE because it is at a tall height. The GPE decreases as the potato falls, and kinetic energy increases because it is moving. When it hits the sofa, it creates a “Thud” noise, meaning that is sound energy. Lastly, the potato also has thermal energy when it hits the sofa.

Newton’s second law F=ma, or force is dependent on the acceleration and mass. The more mass something has, the more force it would have and vice versa.

FN Newton’s second law, 2 Ff Fapp Heavy potato If there is a heavy potato, you would need more force to roll it than a light potato. Fg FN Ff Fapp Light potato Fg

Newton’s second law, 3 When you roll either of the potatoes, they have kinetic energy because they are moving. They also have thermal energy because there is friction, making the potatoes more warm.

Every action has an equal and opposite reaction Newton’s third law Every action has an equal and opposite reaction

FN FN Newton’s third law, 2 Ff Fapp Potato A Potato B Potato A is rolled at potato B which is staying still. Potato B is hit with a set amount of force, and hits potato A with the same amount of force. This pushes B off in the same direction as A was going and stops A. Fg Fg FN FN Ff Fapp Potato A Potato B Fg Fg

Newton’s third law, 3 When both potatoes move, they have kinetic energy. They also have thermal energy because of the friction acting upon them. When they collided, they had sound and thermal energy.

Newton’s third law (Bonus) A potato is thrown at the ground with a great amount of force. This causes the ground to exert the same amount of force back, making the potato bounce upwards and away from the ground. Fapp Ff (fluid) FN Fapp Fg, Ff (Fluid) Fapp Fg

Newton’s third law (Bonus), 2 When the potato is in the air, it has GPE which decreases as it falls. As it falls, kinetic energy increases because it is moving. When it hits the ground, both thermal and sound energy are shown. When it goes upward for a second, kinetic energy is still shown and GPE increases.