Forces resources

Students answer three questions about air pressure in balloons, why helium balloons float, and why a popped balloon makes a noise.

Task: Predict, observe, and explain where a piece of wood floats in a container of water and oil. Assessment focus: flotation related to density; explaining predictions.

Task: Predict which of three balls dropped from different heights will squash most, explain why, and design an investigation to test prediction. Assessment focus: acceleration and fair testing.

Students are given some information about simple machines, and are asked to label the effort, load, and pivot on three examples of simple machines.

Students answer a multiple choice question about what happens when a magnetised object is cut in half, and then draw the lines of the magnetic field around two magnets.

Students select which of five compass orientations best show the direction of a magnetic field at four different locations.

Task: Explain how to use the magnet to remove a drawing pin out of a glass of water without putting the magnet in the glass, touching the glass with hands, or spilling the water. Assessment focus: using knowledge of magnetism to solve a problem.

Task: Answer two multiple choice questions. Assessment focus: managing variables.

Students are given stimulus material on the stopping distance of a toy car released from different heights. Students write an aim, the best way to present the results, identify the measurement required in order to calculate the average speed, and write a conclusion for the investigation.

Task: Investigate mass required to lift a small rock when changing distance from pivot. Assessment focus: levers.

Task: Complete a diagram to show where two people will sit on a seesaw to balance it, and explain answer.

Task: Answer questions about levers. Assessment focus: levers.

Task: Answer questions about the relationship between mass and stretch. Assessment focus: graph interpretation.

Task: Identify how to balance a ruler and give a reason for the answer. Assessment focus: balance.

For this practical students are required to investigate how the use of pulleys affects the effort force needed to raise a load. Students gather results, write a conclusion, and describe two situations in which a pulley system would be useful.

Task: describe how different features of a racing car help it go fast. Assessment focus: technological responses to forces.

Task: Name the parts of a bike and describe how some of them work. Assessment focus; knowledge of the working systems of a bicycle.

Task: Students answer questions about what will make mountain bike riders go faster. Assessment focus: Air resistance.

Students suggest why two girls of the same weight go down a slide at different speeds, and then identify the forces acting on the girls. The assessment focus is on the forces of gravity and friction.

Task: Select which picture correctly shows an ice cube in a glass of water and select correct explanation. Assessment focus: density of ice.

Task: Answer questions about the surface of water in a water cooler on a moving train. Assessment focus: forces.

Task: interpret data from a table and complete two calculations. The context is balancing a see-saw. Assessment focus: using a scientific formula to identify trends.

Task: Complete a graph from data in a table, and answer two questions. Assessment focus: speed and stopping.

Task: Answer questions about relationships between mass and stretch. Assessment focus: identifying patterns in data.

Task: students investigate the rolling distance of marbles on different surfaces. Assessment focus: processing information to answer a question.