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Year 7

What forces do

I can describe what forces are and what forces do.

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New
New
Year 7

What forces do

I can describe what forces are and what forces do.

Download all resources
Share activities with pupils

Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. The motion of faster objects is harder to stop.
  2. The motion of heavier objects is harder to stop.
  3. Objects with a greater mass need a greater force to start or stop it moving, and to change the direction of motion.
  4. A force is a push or a pull.
  5. A force is needed to change the motion or shape of an object.

Common misconception

A moving object has force that keeps it moving, and which runs out when it comes to rest.

Forces come from other objects. Forces change the motion of objects. Objects slow when forces act opposite to the direction of motion.

Keywords

  • Force - Forces are the pushes and pulls that objects exert on each other.

  • Exert - We say that objects exert forces on other objects.

  • Speed - The speed of an object is how fast it is going.

  • Mass - The mass of an object can be thought of as the amount of material making up the object.

Many of the situations illustrated in the diagrams in the slide deck could be demonstrated live in the classroom. Students could be invited to hold up cardboard arrows to objects involved in demonstrations to represent the forces acting.
Teacher tip

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2024), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Video

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Starter quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
When one object pushes or pulls on another object, what do we call the push or pull?
Correct answer: force
energy
power
Q2.
A force is always a or a pull.
Correct Answer: push
Q3.
If they were thrown at the same speed, would a tennis ball (60 g) or a cricket ball (160 g) be harder to stop?
the tennis ball
Correct answer: the cricket ball
they would be equally hard to stop
Q4.
Which one of these is a force?
a waterfall
electric current
a car's engine
Correct answer: the push of your hand on a door
the movement of a rolling ball
Q5.
Forces make things change. Which of the following statements are true?
Correct answer: Forces can change an object's shape.
Correct answer: Forces can change the direction of an object's motion.
Forces can change the material an object is made of.
Correct answer: Forces can change the speed of an object.
Q6.
Which of the following forces act on the moving speedboat? The speedboat is driving forwards.
An image in a quiz
Correct answer: A gravitational force (a downwards pull from Earth).
Correct answer: An upthrust force (an upwards push from the water).
Correct answer: Air resistance (a backwards force from the air as the boat moves through it).
Correct answer: Drag (a backwards force from the water, sometimes called 'water resistance').
Correct answer: A forwards force caused by the boat's motor.

Exit quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
The speed of an object can only be changed if a acts.
Correct Answer: force
Q2.
Which answer gives the best summary of what friction does?
Friction provides motion.
Correct answer: Friction opposes motion.
Friction make things change.
Q3.
Which is the best definition of what a force is?
Correct answer: A force is a push or a pull from another object.
A force is what moving objects have.
A force is the energy an object has.
A force is the power of an object.
Q4.
Which would need the greatest force to stop it?
a 3 g table-tennis ball at a speed of 10 m/s
a 60 g tennis ball at a speed of 2 m/s
a 160 g apple at a speed of 2 m/s
a 160 g cricket ball at a speed of 10 m/s
Correct answer: a 450 g football at a speed of 10 m/s
Q5.
Which is the best way of describing the force represented by the arrow?
An image in a quiz
the hand's force
the balloon's force
Correct answer: the force of the hand on the balloon
the force between the hand and the balloon
Q6.
The path of a golf ball is shown. It was struck with a golf club but then blown off course by the wind. Sophia suggests using a heavier golf ball would help. Identify the false statement.
An image in a quiz
A heavier ball, hit with the same speed, would be more difficult to stop.
A heavier ball would need a greater force from the club to reach the same speed.
Correct answer: A heavier ball would change direction more, under the same force from the wind.
Q5 UYSEG Q6 UYSEG