Force/Lesson on Force

Expectations at Key Stage 2

Sc4 2 FORCES.

Pupils should be taught:

a) about the forces of attraction and repulsion between magnets, and about the forces of attraction between magnets and magnetic materials.
b) that objects are pulled downwards because of the gravitational attraction between them and the Earth.
c) about friction, including air resistance, as a force that slows moving objects and may prevent objects from starting to move.
d) that when objects (for example, a spring, a table) are pushed or pulled, an opposite pull or push can be felt.
e) how to measure forces and identify the direction in which they act.

Expectations at Key Stage 3

Force and linear motion

a) how to determine the speed of a moving object and to use the quantitative relationship between speed, distance and time.
b) that the weight of an object on Earth is the result of the gravitational attraction between its mass and that of the Earth.
c) that unbalanced forces change the speed or direction of movement of objects and that balanced forces produce no change in the movement of an object.
d) ways in which frictional forces, including air resistance, affect motion (for example, streamlining cars).

Force and rotation

e) that forces can cause objects to turn about a pivot.
f) the principle of moments and its application to situations involving one pivot.

Force and pressure

g) the quantitative relationship between force, area and pressure and its application (for example, the use of skis and snowboards, the effect of sharp blades, hydraulic brakes).

Plenary Activities

This cartoon is an ideal ‘starter’ to elicit initial ideas, to promote discussion and to act as a stimulus for practical investigation of the range of ideas suggested… Consider possible intervention strategies/practical activity.

This cartoon is a useful plenary activity – obviously it’s difficult to replicate in the classroom, but as a discussion based around a ‘thought experiment’ will help children re-assess their understanding and provide useful formative assessment evidence.

The distinction between ‘power’ and ‘energy’

The distinction between ‘power’ and ‘energy’

Representing Forces

Falling Object

Self-Assessment: Aeroplane

Measuring Forces