GoalRemember that forces are pushes and pulls that can start, stop, speed up, slow down and turn objects and change their shape.
New words
force · a push or a pullspeed · how fast or how slowly something movesdirection · the way something is moving
Explanation
A force is a push or a pull. A push moves something away from you, and a pull brings it towards you. A big force can move a heavy thing, and a small force can move a light thing. Forces can start things moving and stop them. A push the way a thing is moving makes it speed up. A push the other way, or a brake, slows it down. A bigger push makes a thing move faster than a small push. A push from the side can change its direction. Forces can also change the shape of soft things: we can squash, stretch, bend and twist them. In every test we predict first and keep it fair.
Worked examples
A big push makes a ball go fast. A small push makes it go slowly.
A child pulls the brake and her bicycle slows down. She turns the handlebars and it changes direction.
A sponge squashes, a sock stretches, a paper strip bends and a rope twists.
Class activity
Force hunt (with an adult): go round your home. Find five objects. For each one say: do I push it or pull it to use it? Then find one object you can squash and one you can stretch. Make a table with the headings push, pull, squash and stretch.
Practice
1
Is opening a drawer a push or a pull?
A pull (to open it).
2
Which push makes a toy car go the fastest?
B, the big push.
3
How can you make a moving ball change direction?
Push it from the side.
4
Write the four ways a force can change the shape of a soft object.
