The Physics of Swimming — Questions and answers
Read the full story
What did River wonder about her swimming?
Choices
- Why she was splashing so much.
- Why pushing water backward made her go forward. ✓
- How fast she was swimming.
- Where the lane line was.
Answer: Why pushing water backward made her go forward.
From page 1
What secret did Coach Kailani say River had discovered?
Choices
- A new way to swim fast.
- Isaac Newton's Third Law of Motion. ✓
- The best way to splash.
- How to make water colder.
Answer: Isaac Newton's Third Law of Motion.
From page 2
When did the narrator say they needed to go back to understand Isaac Newton's law?
Choices
- To a time with flying cars.
- To England in the late 1600s. ✓
- To ancient Egypt.
- To last year.
Answer: To England in the late 1600s.
From page 3
What was Sir Isaac Newton obsessed with understanding?
Choices
- How to write with quill pens.
- Why people lit candles.
- Why planets stayed in orbit and how things moved on Earth. ✓
- Where Cambridge University was located.
Answer: Why planets stayed in orbit and how things moved on Earth.
From page 4
What did Newton mean by "standing on the shoulders of Giants"?
Choices
- He literally stood on tall people.
- He learned from the great thinkers and discoveries that came before him. ✓
- He had a very tall chair.
- He liked to look at tall bookshelves.
Answer: He learned from the great thinkers and discoveries that came before him.
From page 5
What did River say was the 'action' when she was swimming?
Choices
- The water pushing her forward.
- Her hands pushing the water backward. ✓
- Treading water in the pool.
- Shouting to Coach Kailani.
Answer: Her hands pushing the water backward.
From page 8
What example did River use to show Newton's Third Law in action?
Choices
- A rocket flying into space.
- A sprinkler spinning around. ✓
- A jet engine pushing a plane.
- A boat moving away from a dock.
Answer: A sprinkler spinning around.
From page 9