Audience
Educators
Grade Levels
Grades 5-8, Grades 9-12
Subject
Mathematics, Physical Science, Technology, Forces and Motion, Gravity, Space Station
Type
Lesson Plans / Activities, Videos
How does the International Space Station continuously orbit Earth at a speed of 17,500 miles per hour? What would happen if the space station sped up or slowed down? In this STEMonstration, United Arab Emirates (UAE) astronaut Sultan Alneyadi, demonstrates the connection between angular momentum and an object’s orbit using a yo-yo in the space station’s microgravity environment. In the corresponding Classroom Connection, students will expand their understanding of Newton’s first law of motion by exploring angular momentum in a hands-on experiment.
STEMonstrations are short, 3–5-minute educational videos filmed by crew members aboard the space station. The crew uses the unique microgravity environment on the space station to demonstrate popular K-12 STEM topics.
Classroom Connection: Angular Momentum
Grade Levels: 6 – 12
Time Required: 45 minutes
Next Generation Science Standards:
MS-PS2-4: Construct and present arguments using evidence to support the claim that gravitational interactions are attractive and depend on the masses of interacting objects
HS-PS2-2: Use mathematical representations to support the claim that the total momentum of a system of objects is conserved when there is no net force on the system.