Forces
Stage 2 Science
Unit Duration: 9 Weeks
Physical World
Learning Across the Curriculum:
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
histories and cultures
Asia and Australia's engagement with Asia
Ethical understanding
Personal and social capability
Information and communication
technology capability
Civics and citizenship
Sustainability
Intercultural understanding
Difference and diversity
Critical and creative thinking
Numeracy
Work and enterprise
Outcomes: ST2-7PW: describes everyday interactions between objects that result from contact and non-contact forces.
Topic Description: Students will investigate the role of forces in the physical world. They will explore the different types of forces that are contact and non- contact.
Contact forces in the topic will include: friction, push and pull, momentum, elasticity/ bouncing. Non- contact forces include gravity and magnetism.
Content:
Forces can be exerted by one object on another through direct contact or from a distance. (ACSSU076)
Students:
investigate the effect of forces on the behaviour of objects, eg dropping, bouncing or rolling objects
observe the way the force of gravity pulls objects towards the Earth, eg dropping objects from different heights
observe everyday situations where the direct contact force (friction) affects the movement of objects on different surfaces, eg a bike or skateboard
carry out tests to investigate the forces of attraction and repulsion between magnets
Term 3 Unit Overview – 9 weeks
Week 1
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Introduction to Forces with overview of push, pull, gravity, friction, magnetism, elasticity
Play games that uses a range of forces
Capture students’ interest and find out what they think they know about how forces can be exerted by one object on
another through direct contact or forces from a distance. What do they already know about contact and non-contact
forces and their effects.
Week 2
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Unbalanced forces : Push and Pull
To provide hands-on, shared experiences of different-sized forces acting on an object
Experiment with unbalanced forces through a game of tug of war
Friction lesson 1- Investigate the rougher the surface the more friction that is produced
To provide hands-on, shared experiences of friction (a force which acts through direct contact)
Friction lesson 2 – how do air resistance and drag slow an object down in the air and water?
Gravity Lesson 1 – Faraway forces including how gravity causes momentum
To provide hands-on, shared experiences of gravity (a force which acts at a distance)
Gravity Lesson 2 – how does gravity affect our lives? Gravity will be investigated by comparing life in space and life on
earth.
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Magnetism as a non- contact force – hands on activity to explore items which are magnetic and those that are not.
Elasticity as a force that allows some materials to return to their original shape after being stretched or compressed.
Wrapping it all up – Revision of forces
What are forces assessment
Week 3
Week4
Week 5
Week 6
Week 7
Week 8
Week 9
Teaching & Learning Activities
Lesson 1: Introduction to…
Take home message: (WALT) Investigate contact and non- contact forces
1) Introduction: Introduce unit topic: Show students title pages in the notebook file. Explain that we are going to be learning about contact forces- push, pull,
elasticity, friction and non- contact forces: gravity, magnetism. Introduce forces word wall and posters in classroom.
2) Game: get students to sit in a circle and roll a ball to each other. Ask student volunteers to explain which forces are being used in this simple game? As a variation
ask students to bound, push and pull the ball towards each other, guide a student to see if they can they create friction with the ball?
3) KWL chart to find out what students already know about the topic. Explain that we will fill in the K – what student’s already know about forces and W- what they
want to know, at the end of the topic we will review the L- what we have learnt about forces.
• Guided Questions: What are contact forces? What are non- contact forces? How can you tell the difference between the two categories? Which
experiments can we do to demonstrate push, pull, friction, gravity, magnetism and elasticity?
• Show Bill Nye clip on forces https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8iKhLGK7HGk
4) Show students the notebook file on contact and non-contact forces. Ask student volunteers to drag and drop the forces into the correct categories of contact and
non-contact.
5) Hand out worksheet on contact and non-contact forces. The worksheet is in lesson 1 folder, only print pages 9 or 10.
6) Reflection: student volunteers can share their answers and act out the forces that have been covered in the lesson.
7) Extension: start a title page for the new unit.
Resources
Notebook File Lesson 1
Worksheet: 1 per students (see lesson 1 folder, only print page 9 and 10).
Links for spare time:
• http://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/ks2/science/physical_processes/forces/play/
• http://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/ks2/science/physical_processes/forces/read/1/
Differentiation
Worksheet with
close passage or
filled in.
Assessment
Work sample in books.
Register/Evaluation
Lesson 2 :
WALT: Identify balanced and unbalanced forces by understanding push and pull
Take home message: Forces can balanced and unbalanced
1) Explain the take home message is- understanding balanced and unbalanced forces means looking at different sized forces. Ask student volunteers to explain
what is meant by balanced and unbalanced forces.
2) Go to slide 2 and explain that a force is a push or a pull needed to start a stationary object moving, stop an object from moving or change the speed or
direction that an object is moving at. Remind students that we investigated forces when we played the ball games last lesson. Ask students to share what
they remember from last lesson with a partner. Think/pair/ share.
3) Go through the slides on push and pull and remind students that they need to be able to identify that a push moves something away from you, and a pull
moves something towards you. Get students to stand up and mime the actions of a door closing, opening a door, kicking a ball etc. Think/pair/share forces
used in the playground.
4) Ask student volunteers to share examples of balanced and unbalanced forces from games that that they can think of playing. Show slides about balanced
and unbalanced forces. Unbalanced forces may be a ball that is tossed high into the air in a game of volleyball or a tug of war with unbalanced strength on
each side. Show tug of war video from a year 7 science day on balanced and unbalanced forces. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zm32ORZly10
5) Go outside for a game of tug of war, slit ¾ of the class on one side and then ¼ on the other. Try different combinations of people until you have balanced
forces.
6) Return to class and ask students to mark off the balanced and unbalanced forces on slide 12.
7) Complete worksheet on balanced and unbalanced forces (see lesson 2 folder.) Please note students will need to work in pairs and experiment with
unbalanced forces by pushing/pulling an object – can be a pencil, rubber, pencil case, drink bottle etc.
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Resources
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Rope for tug of war – ask Dave
Worksheet – push and pull (LA) and unbalanced and balanced forces worksheet (all)
and or unbalanced forces in the playground (if unable to do tug of war game) See
lesson 2 folder
Differentiation
LA students can
do the push and
pull worksheet in
lesson 2 folder.
Assessment
Register/Evaluation
Lesson 3:
Take home message: Friction is a type of force that slows an object down
1) Explain to students that Friction is a force between two surfaces that are sliding, or trying to slide, across each other. For example, when you try to push a book
along the floor friction makes this difficult. Friction always works in the direction opposite from the direction the object is moving, or trying to move. Friction
always slows a moving object down. Play this video clip explaining friction https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C7NPD9W0kro
• How is more or less friction is produced? The amount of friction depends on the materials from which the two surfaces are made. The rougher the surface, the
more friction is produced. For example, you would have to push a book harder to get it moving on a carpet than you would on a wooden floor. This is because there
is more friction between the carpet and the book than there is between the wood and the book.
• Heat: Remind students that we studied friction in our heat unit. Friction also produces heat. If you rub your hands together quickly, you will feel them get warmer.
2) Show the slides explaining how friction slows down an object from moving. Explain that there is very little friction on a smooth surface such as ice, show video of a
polar bear sliding on ice https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3LMmu-DKaQ0 Discuss if a Polar Bear would slide on our carpet wearing sports shoes.
Guided questions
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Ask the children whether it is more difficult for an object to start moving on a smooth or a rough surface. Ask them to explain their answer.
Encourage the children to explain their ideas using words such as roughness, smoothness, grip and slide or slip.
Explain to the children that where there is greater grip, there is a greater force of something called friction.
Please not that air resistance is another form of friction, for example a parachute will stop a person from crashing straight into the ground. Inform students that we will
cover air resistance in our next lesson.
4) Experiment: Demonstrate how a toy car will move on different surfaces. If no materials available use BBC Bitesize game that follows similar steps testing friction of
different surfaces. http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/scienceclips/ages/8_9/friction.shtml. Invite student volunteers to push the care along the different materials.
5) Hand out worksheet and discuss the results of the experiment and discuss why the car went faster on the smooth surfaces.
6) Reflection- Games: MI High- friction game to consolidate the lesson student volunteers can help save the character with their knowledge of friction.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/ks2/science/physical_processes/friction/play/
Resources
Differentiation
Register/Evaluation
• Worksheets 1 per person (see lesson 3 folder)
• Notebook file – see week 3 folder
• Toy cars / ball/anything that will roll (1 for demonstration or 1 per group)
• 4 different types of material – eg bubble wrap, fabric, wood, cushion
• BBC Bitesize game – change the surfaces to see which produces the most friction if no
materials available
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/scienceclips/ages/8_9/friction.shtml
Lesson 4: Friction and air –resistance experiment
Take home message: (WALT) Friction can create drag and air-resistance
1) Start by asking students what they remember from last lesson about friction as a force.
2) Drop a piece of an ordinary piece of paper and a crumpled piece of paper (stand on a chair for extra effect). Ask student volunteers to explain why the flat
piece of paper took longer to fall? Drag an open plastic bag around and demonstrate that friction is causing air-resistance.
3) Show notebook file slides and explain that friction can create drag in water and air resistance. Show https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RrJ1-YofCaA
Crash Course Kids clip about air resistance experiment that involved a ball and a parachute. Pause the video and explain the meaning of the term airresistance as you go.
4) Balloon Drop experiment – show http://eisforexplore.blogspot.com.au/2012/05/water-balloon-skydiving.html and explain the steps that are involved in
designing a parachute for your water balloon.
5) Hand out balloons, string/ wool and plastic bags to each pair.
• Ask student volunteers to explain why they think the plastic bag will work to protect the balloon.
• Give students 10 mins to design their parachutes
• One person from each pair can fill up the water balloons
• Got to the highest point that you can safely fit your class and demonstrate dropping a balloon on its own. Why did it break? Do you think that the
plastic bag/ parachute design you have made will help protect the balloon?
• Position a student at the bottom to film the experiment
6) Allow students to drop a water balloon from the balcony and let it pop
7) Film the students dropping their water balloons through the window and record which ones survived the drop.
8) Return the class and discuss the most successful parachutes and the reasons why they worked so well.
9) Remind students of the take home message.
10) Post video onto blog
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RrJ1-YofCaA Crash course kids
Water Balloons/ balls
Plastic bags/ foam
String/ wool
Sticky tape
Ipad to film
If possible ask students to bring in their own materials to make their parachutes.
Differentiation
Extension: write
up experiment
results.
Assessment
Register/Evaluation
Lesson 5: Gravity as a non-contact force
Take home message: (WALT) Gravity acts as a far- away force
1) Start of lesson with a review of previous forces covered. What can they remember about push, pull, and friction and air resistance?
2) Ask student volunteers to share what they already know about gravity? Can it be seen?
3) Remind students that gravity is a non-contact force that cannot be seen. Gravity is the force that pulls all objects towards earth and stops things from floating away
like they do in space. Gravity is also the force that keeps all of the planets in orbit. The larger the object the more gravity that it has.
4) Show crash course kids clip – introduction to gravity. Pause the clip throughout and explain what is meant by gravity acting like a super glue that sticks everything to
the earth. Also pause after the ball demonstration in the clip and ask a student to demonstrate that throwing a ball – t the left, right, up or down will always lead to
the same result of the ball falling to the ground. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ljRlB6TuMOU&list=PLhz12vamHOnYXbP8_-PnzYDP3ibgdfH_4
5) Ask a student to blow up a balloon and demonstrate that if the balloon is hit up, then it will be gravity that brings it back down again.
6) Hand out balloons in pairs, (identify students who are able to assist with tying balloons up at the start of the lesson!
7) Instruct students to hit the ball up in the air with their partner and watch the effects of gravity if the hit the balloon down.
8) Go to the guided questions page and discuss how gravity was affecting the balloon and us here on earth.
9) Reflection: Show this clip about forces which covers attempting to move a rock by push, pull and gravity. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LEs9J2IQIZY
Balloons – 1 per pair
Notebook file – lesson 5
Extra resources if unable to use balloons
• http://www.theschoolrun.com/homework-help/gravity
• http://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/ks2/science/physical_processes/forces/read/2/
Lesson 6: Gravity part 2 – compare life on earth and life with less gravity in space
Take home message: (WALT)
1) Review content from previous lesson on gravity. Find out what students have retained.
2) Ask students to imagine life in the International Space Station, what would it be like to live with zero gravity? Show website and discuss the changes to everyday life
in space. https://www.esa.int/esaKIDSen/SEMG2JWJD1E_LifeinSpace_0.html
3) In groups of 4 write down comparisons between life on earth and life in space. Use white boards to record.
4) Ask students to share their comparisons with the class.
5) Watch and discuss https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vwfbdPyzgDo&list=PLhz12vamHOnYXbP8_-PnzYDP3ibgdfH_4&index=4 Crash Course Kids gravity clip.
6) Look at http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/explorations/space/level1/MoonOlympics.htm and play the moon Olympics game and answer gravity based
questions.
7) In pairs or groups students can design their own events for the moon Olympics.
8) Share event ideas and act out moon weightlifting, running and swimming etc as a class.
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• Whiteboards
• Gravity lesson 2 notebook file
Spare resources
http://www.theschoolrun.com/homework-help/gravity
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=suQDwZcnJdg – Dr Binocs: gravity clip
http://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/ks2/science/physical_processes/forces/play/
http://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/ks2/science/physical_processes/forces/read/1/
http://www.primarygames.com/arcade/skill/gravity/
Lesson 7: Magnetism
Take home message: (WALT) Magnetism is a force that can move objects by repelling and attracting
1. Start lesson by asking students volunteers to share what they already know about magnetism.
2. Demonstrate that some metals are magnetic and some are not by asking student volunteers to stick magnets to metal objects in front of the class.
3. Hand out magnetic or non-magnetic worksheet and ask students to hypothesise if the items on the list and items around the classroom are magnetic or nonmagnetic. Ensure that students make their prediction without access to magnets.
4. Ask students to share their predictions. Hand out magnets and allow students 10 minutes to look for magnetic items around the school or classroom. Ask students
to investigate what happens when magnetic items are placed next to other magnetic items but are not touching a magnet?
5) Ask student volunteers to share their results with the class, can they explain why some metals were magnetic and others were not?
6) Demonstrate attraction and repulsion and allow students to investigate magnetic forces with their partner using opposite ends of their magnets. N to N and S to S vs
N to S.
7) Show magnetism PPT slides up until the attraction and repulsion slides. Show https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yXCeuSiTOug Dr Binos – on magnetism for kids.
8) Go through the remaining PPT slides and pause to focus on the metals that are magnetic – Cobalt, Nickel and iron that are also found in the earths core and act and
create a magnetic field that allows compasses to work.
9) Hand out worksheet 2 and guide students through the close passage and questions about magnetic poles attracting and repelling.
10) Mark answers to work sheet as a reflection activity.
If spare time:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/ks2/science/physical_processes/magnets/read/1/
http://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/ks2/science/physical_processes/magnets/play/
Background information: http://www.sciencekids.co.nz/sciencefacts/magnets.html
Resources
Magnets – 1 per pair
Magnetic or non-magnetic worksheet – 1 per student
Magnetic worksheet 2 – 1 per student
Magnetism PPT
Differentiation
Assessment
Register/Evaluation
Lesson 8: Elasticity
Take home message: (WALT) Investigate elasticity as a force that allows materials to bend and stretch and return to their original state
1) Ask students what is meant by the term elasticity? Can they think of 5 items that are elastic/ stretchy? Think, pair, share.
2) Show the picture of a bungee jumper in the notebook file. What will happen to this bungee jumper when he reaches the end of the bungee cord?
He won’t come to an abrupt stop. If he did, he might be seriously hurt. Instead, the cord will stretch while slowing his fall. Q: What will happen
next? A: The cord will only stretch so far, and then it will snap back to its original shape, causing the jumper to bounce back up. Bungee cords are
useful for this purpose because they are elastic.
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3) Show video of bungee jumping https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l9m4cW2yxy0 or 30second version found at bottom of page
http://www.ck12.org/physical-science/Elastic-Force-in-Physical-Science/lesson/Elastic-Force-MS-PS/ Ask students if this something that students
would like to do?
4) Visit http://www.ck12.org/physical-science/Elastic-Force-in-Physical-Science/lesson/Elastic-Force-MS-PS/ page and show students the images of
things that stretch. Ask student volunteers to explain how they know that the items are stretchy/ elastic?
Something that is elastic can return to its original shape after being stretched or compressed.
This property is called elasticity.
As you stretch or compress an elastic material like a bungee cord, it resists the change in shape.
It exerts a counter force in the opposite direction.
This force is called elastic force. The farther the material is stretched or compressed, the greater the elastic force becomes. As soon as the stretching or
compressing force is released, elastic force causes the material to spring back to its original shape.
5) Watch Mocomi kids clip about elasticity and how rubber is made. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pWAvmQZjdXk
6) Hand out elastic bands and ask student to experiment with stretching them and watching them return to their original form. Remind students that
elastic bands will break and can be a hazard if they reach their elastic limit.
7) Hand out weights and cups/ containers and ask students to draw pictures onto their worksheets that show how the elastic bands look before and
after they are stretched. Explain the details of how they are to record their results.
8) Allow 10 minutes of investigation time and ensure that students are using their materials safely.
9) Ask students to share their results with the class. Create and record a group definition for the term elasticity on the board.
Resources
Notebook file
Experiment result sheets – lesson 8 folder
Elastic bands – 1 per pair
Newton meters – 1 per group of 6
Weights
Cups – to hold weights
Differentiation
Extension activity during the
elasticity investigation –
students can measure the
force of the stretch using the
Newton meters.
Mixed ability groupsd
Assessment
Worksheet and observations
Register/Evaluation
Lesson 9: Assessment
Take home message: (WALT)
i. Go through the study ladder balanced and unbalanced forces quiz
https://www.studyladder.com.au/teacher/resources/activity?activity_id=28589
ii. Ask students to act out examples of forces that we have studied in this topic. Eg gravity, push, pull, friction, air resistance,
magnetism etc.
iii. Go through the KWL chart from lesson 1 and ask student volunteers to share what they have learnt. Fill in the Learnt section of the
chart.
iv. Go through the test questions and hand out tests.
v. Early finishers can plan a forces science experiment that they would like to do over the holidays. They must include a hypothesis
and how they will be conducting a fair test.
Resources
Differentiation
Assessment
Register/Evaluation
Term test- 1 per student ( in Forces folder on T- Drive )
Provide reading
Assessment worksheet for unit
assistance to LA
test.
students.
Select questions
for LA students.
Teacher Background Information
http://interactivesites.weebly.com/physics-and-motion.html