1. Force Discovery Activity
This activity will be used as an introduction to force as a push or pull. Have students look at the picture, and describe the actions of the men. Two men are pulling the wagon while two men are pushing the wagon. They are all applying force, but in different ways to be able to do the work.
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2. Ball Rolling Activity Instructions
Place the ball on top of your desks, and work together to gently roll the ball between each of you while keeping the ball on the desks.
Practice this several times, and make sure the ball does not come to a stop.
When I say GO, your group should begin rolling the ball around the desks.
Whichever group keeps the ball on the desks and moving the longest is the winner!
We will repeat this activity a few times, and the winning groups will receive a prize.
Draw a picture with labels of how this activity shows force in action on your Activity Sheet.
Then, answer the questions below the picture.
Hand out the Force Discovery Activity Sheet to students.
Desks should be grouped together in fours or sixes to make a square/rectangle out of the desks. This activity will not work otherwise.
Students should practice keeping the ball on the desks several times before you start the game. Make sure students realize that this isn’t a game of Ping Pong so they should not be hitting the ball to make it fly across the room.
Monitor the game closely so you can tell if the groups are playing fairly.
Prizes can be something as simple as 5 extra credit points, classroom helper slips, stickers, or anything else that you know your students would like within reason. (Candy is good also, but you should check with your administrator before handing it out.)
When students draw their pictures, have them focus on force. Specifically, this activity deals with force as a push so their drawings could show a hand/finger pushing a ball with the label of Push/Force pointing to the hand, etc.
Remember that this is a discovery activity so students may not realize the point at this time.
Have students answer the questions about balanced and unbalanced forces to get them thinking about what each of these looks like.
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3. Tug-of-War Instructions
You will be randomly divided four teams.
When I call your team, set up on one side of the rope.
When I say GO, each team should try to pull at least one person over the line on the floor by playing Tug-of-War.
The winning teams will then compete against each other, and the overall winning team will receive a prize.
When we get back to class, draw a picture with labels of how this activity shows force in action on your Activity Sheet.
Then, answer the questions below the picture.
Inform students that teams are picked at random. You should do this before class begins so you can even them out if needed.
Make sure you have either two different ropes, or have two teams go against each other and then switch.
There should be a center line on the floor so doing this in the gym or cafeteria is best. You could also do this outside in the grass with a line of string, rope, etc. on the ground.
Additionally, make sure all students participating have close-toed shoes. They should not participate without the right type of shoes.
Monitor closely so you can tell if the groups are playing fairly.
Prizes can be something as simple as 5 extra credit points, classroom helper slips, stickers, or anything else that you know your students would like within reason. (Candy is good also, but you should check with your administrator before handing it out.)
When students draw their pictures, have them focus on force. Specifically, this activity deals with force as a pull so their drawings should show something to that effect.
Remember that this is a discovery activity so students may not realize the point at this time.
Have students answer the questions about balanced and unbalanced forces to get them thinking about what each of these looks like.
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4. © 2017 ElementaryScienceTeachers.com
Force Definitions
Force – a push or pull.
Motion – moving from one place to another or a change in location; can be caused by force.
Balanced Forces – two forces acting in opposite directions on an object, and equal in size; causes no motion.
Unbalanced Forces – two forces acting in opposite directions on an object, and unequal in size; causes motion.
Once completed, discuss the activity sheet examples in detail. Here are some main points to touch on.
Force is a push or pull.
The ball rolling activity demonstrated push, and the tug-of-war demonstrated pull.
Force can put something in motion, or make it move, like the ball or the rope.
Force is all around us. Gravity, magnetism, friction, push, pull, thrust from an engine, inertia, etc. Connect to the Gravity and Tides lesson where students completed several gravity activities.
Balanced forces cause no motion because they are equal. For example, if two people push with the same force on opposite sides of a box, then the box won’t move. Box on a Table: The force of a table pushing upward and the force of gravity pushing downward on the box would be balanced because the box sits still on the table.
Unbalanced forces cause motion because one force is stronger than another. For example, the Earth pulls the Moon around it because the Earth’s gravity is stronger than the Moon’s gravity. The Tug-of-War is won by one team pulling harder, or applying a stronger force, on the rope.
Then, have students copy these definitions into their notebooks with an example drawing for each. You could also hand out the Force Definition Notes, and have students fill in the blanks and paste them in their notebooks. They should still draw the examples. Discuss each term with an example on the board, and relate it to the Ball Rolling and Tug-of-War Activities.
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