Push and Pull

Forces

What is a Force?
A force is a push or pull needed to start an object
moving or, more accurately, to make things change
their motion.
When a force is applied to an object the following can
happen:
- a stationary object moves
- the speed of an object increases
- an object changes direction
- a moving object stops moving

What is a Push?
A push is a force moving something away
from you.

What is a Pull?
A pull is a force moving something towards
you.

How can you make things move?

You can move things by
Pushing them

and pulling them

We can also use push and pull forces to make something:

Quiz time:
Is this a push or a pull?

Is this a push or a pull?

Is this a push or a pull?

Is this a push or a pull?

Is this a push or a pull?

Challenge
http://
resources.hwb.wales.gov.uk/VTC/push_pull/eng/Introduct
ion/default.htm

Push and Pull Review

1. Complete the
Push and Pull Forces worksheet - draw
arrows to show the push and pull force on
each picture.
2. Complete the
Push and Pull Picture and Sentence Sort w
orksheet
- cut and paste images of pushes and
pulls.

Draw a picture:
Push:

Pull:

Video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8iKhLGK7HGk

What makes things move fast or

slow?
An objects motion is affected by many factors:
The
The
The
The

strength of the push or pull

incline
surface (friction)
mass (weight) and shape of the object

What makes things move fast or

slow?
An objects motion is affected by many factors
The strength of the push or pull, surface (friction), mass
and shape of the object itself all affects how it will
move.
The stronger the push or pull, the faster the object
moves
The weaker the push or pull, the slower the object
moves
Speed is also affected by the strength of the push and
pull

The strength of the push or pull

The stronger the push or pull (force), the faster the
object moves
The weaker the push or pull, the slower the object
moves

The speed of the object

Speed is also affected by the strength of the force.
How fast an object moves over a measured distance is
how speed is measured
Usually, the greater (bigger) the force of a push or pull,
the greater (faster) the objects move.

What makes things move fast or

slow?

Predict and control how objects

move:

True or False?
A strong push makes a car move a long distance

You can stop a large running dog by gently pulling on

the leash

An object will not move unless a push or pull force is

used

What makes things move fast or

slow?
Car demonstration- Predict the answer:
What will happen when the car is pushed gently?
What will happen when the car is pushed with a
stronger force?
http
://resources.hwb.wales.gov.uk/VTC/push_pull/eng/Introduc
tion/default.htm

Marbles

Balloon Challenge
How long can the class keep a balloon in the air without
dropping it
Think about the speed and strength of the force needed

What is Friction?
Friction is a force that happens when objects
rub against one another.
Different types of surfaces create different
amounts of friction. Some create a lot of
friction, whereas some create only a little
friction.
The weight of an object also impacts the
amount of friction.

What is friction?
Friction is a force between two surfaces that are
moving, or trying to slide across one another.
For
example when you try to push a toy car along the floor.
Friction always works in the direction opposite from the
direction the object is moving, or trying to move. It
always slows a moving object down.
Moving

Friction

What is friction?
The amount of friction depends on the materials from
which the two surfaces are made. The rougher the
surface, the more friction is produced.
For example, you would have to push a book harder to
get it moving on a carpet than you would on a wooden
floor. This is because there is more friction between the
carpet and the book than there is between the wood
and the book.

Friction
Who has ever tired to sliding on a wooden or tiled floor?
It is much easier to slide on a smooth surface like wood
then on carpet, this is because of friction
What happens if you try to slide with socks and then bare
feet?
The rougher the surface, the more friction created
Have you ever tired hurt yourself when sliding on the
carpet, this is because the friction created between your
skin and the carpet

What is friction?
Friction also produces heat. For example, if you rub your
hands together quickly, they get warmer.
When we slide down a slide, or push a toy car along, we
also create friction.

Useful friction
Friction can be a useful force because it prevents our
shoes slipping on the pavement when we walk and
stops car tyres skidding on the road.
Friction between brakes and wheels help bikes and cars
slow down

Ice
Ice causes very little friction, which is why it is easy to
slip over on an ice when ice skating.

Toy Train vs Real Train

Imagine you push a toy train across the floor of
your classroom. It doesn't take much effort or
force, because the toy is light. Now, imagine you
try to push a real train. You can't do it because
the force of friction between the train and the
train track is more intense. The heavier the
object, the stronger the friction.

Friction Challenge
http://www.learninggamesforkids.com/motion-games/friction-ramp.html

Science Experiment/ Method

Investigation: What question are we trying to answer
Hypothesis/ prediction: What we think will happen
Method: What we did
Results: What happened
Conclusion: Was your prediction correct

Car Investigation
Question: What surface will create the least amount of
friction when a toy car travels down a ramp?
Remember: the more friction created, the slower and
shorter distance the car travels
The smoother the surface, less friction created and the
further the car will travel

What is gravity?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ljRlB6TuMOU

What is Gravity?
Gravity is veryimportantto our everyday lives.
Without Earth's gravity we would fly right off it. We'd all
have to be strapped down all the time. If you kicked a
ball, it would fly off forever. While it might be fun to try
for a few minutes, we certainly couldn't live life on Earth
without gravity.
Sir Isaac Newton discovered that all objects have a
gravitational force, things that are up must come down

What is Gravity?
Gravity is a force that pulls us to the ground. If you
drop a ball, it falls to the ground because of gravity.
All objects have gravity. Some objects (like the Sun
and the Moon) have a lot more gravity than others.
If you drop two different objects from the same
height, they will fall at the same speed and land at
the same time.
We know that planes and helicopters have engines
that help them stay in the air.
So how does a parachute stay in the air for so long?

A parachute
catches the
air and
supports the
weight of the
parachutist.
Push of
air

Push of
air

Pull of gravity

Prediction
What will happen when I drop this paper helicopter?

Paper Helicopter
Task

The same forces affect a paper helicopter

As air moves past the falling paper helicopter, it creates a
spinning effect. The air pushes up each wing separately, which
causes the helicopter to spin
The larger the wings and the lighter the helicopter, the slower it
will fall.
Adding weight, such as, adding paper clips to the stem, or using
heavier paper will make the helicopter fall faster because of the
increased pull of gravity. Increasing its wing size will make it fall
more slowly because of increased air resistance on the larger
surface area.

Paper Helicopter Experiment

Question:
What things will affect how quickly the helicopter falls to
the ground?

Paper Helicopter Experiment

Think about:
the size of the wings, shape of the wings, angle of the
wings,
length of the stem
height it is dropped from
weight of the helicopter
paper it is made from

Helicopter Experiment
Groups of 3
1 Team leader per group
Each person makes one helicopter
Team leader makes the helicopter with two paper clips
One team member makes one with short wings and the
other team member makes one with long wings
Undertake 3 experiments- all have a turn at each
helicopter
Record results

Paper Helicopter Experiment

Questions to think about:
What pulls the helicopter down?
How does it move?
What pushes up against the wings of the helicopter?
Have you seen examples of this anywhere else, such
as, real helicopters or parachutes?
Why does the helicopter with bigger/smaller wings fall
more slowly/more quickly?

Why Do Some Things Float?

As a class, discuss the following questions:
- Why do some things float and some
sink?
- Why can a boat float?
- Why does a paper clip sink?

Buoyancy (Floating)
Whether an object floats or sinks is determined
by the balance between the downward pull of
gravity and the upward push of the water.
This upward pushing force is called
buoyancy.

This shows the balance between push and pull forces

Pull of
Push of gravity Push of

Buoyancy (Floating)
If the downward pull of gravity and
upward push of water are in balance,
the object will float.
If the weight force down is larger than
the upward push of the water on the
object, then the object will sink.

Pull of
Push of gravity Push of

Why things Float

Things sink or float in water depending on
these factors:
their shape
the material they are made from
upwards force of buoyancy
between push and pull forces

Investigating Buoyancy
http://
www.eduplace.com/kids/hmsc/activities/simula
tions/gr1/unite.html

Experiment Procedure
Question
Hypothesis
Conduct experiment
Observe and record results

Buoyancy Experiment
1. Science Experiment/Procedure
When a ball of plasticine is placed in water will it sink or
float?
2.

Science Experiment/Procedure

Can we change an object that sinks to an object that

floats?

What is Magnetism?
Magnets are surrounded by a magnetic force, called
a magnetic field. This is invisible to the human eye.
If a magnetic object comes close to a magnetic
field, it is pulled towards the magnet and will attach
itself to it.
Magnetic objects are those which contain iron,
nickel or cobalt. All other objects are non-magnetic.
Because the core of the Earth is made
up of iron and nickel, it is actually one,
gigantic magnet!

Attract or Repel?
All magnets have a
north pole and a south
pole.
When the opposite
poles on a magnet are
placed near each
other, they attract.
When the like (same)
poles on a magnet are
placed near each

Exploring Magnets Task

Complete the Exploring with Magnets task.

Summary
A force is a push or pull needed to start an
object moving or, more accurately, to make
things change their motion.
Some forces include:
- friction
- buoyancy
- gravity
-magnetism.

Revision
Complete the
Push and Pull Vocabulary worksheet.
Complete the Fun with Forces worksheet.
Complete the Which Force Is That? w
orksheet.

What makes things moveExperiment

Challenge: Use a force (push or pull) to move the stone

across the paper
Criteria: You ONLY use the objects given to you to move
the stone NOT YOUR HANDS!
Materials: Stone, popstick, string, rubber band, straw,
paper
Design: Look closely at your objects, talk to your
partners about how you will move the stone
Investigate and conduct experiment
Record results