Topic

Forces are all around us and affect everything we do.

 

A force is a push or a pull. Forces can make object moves or stop, speed them up or slow them down. If you push a toy car it moves, if you push it harder it moves faster. Forces can also make objects change direction or shape.

 

A lighter object needs less force to move than a heavier object. For example you could push an empty box easily, but a filled box would be harder, it would need more force to move.

 

If you give a toy car a push what happens? It speeds up and then slows down. The reason it slows down is because of two forces, air resistance and friction.

 

Air resistance is air pushing on a moving object which slows it down.

Friction is the force between two objects when you rub them together. Try rubbing your hands together? Do they get hot? You feel the friction between your hands as heat.

Air resistance and friction take time to slow an object down, if you want an object to stop quickly you need to apply further force, for example a brake on a bike.

Other examples of forces are magnetism, gravity and air pressure

 

****Important****

These tasks are designed to be carried out by children working with a parent, guardian or other appropriate adult. The adult involved is fully responsible for ensuring that the activities are carried out safely.

 

 

 

All information and tasks taken from the website below. 

Have a go at the suggested tasks this week or use this website for other ideas to investigate forces.