Forces and motion
Pushes and pulls, simple machines, magnets and building strong structures.
Lessons
Pushes, Pulls and Magnets
Why a rolling ball always stops, whether a magnet can pull through a table, and how far a paper clip will jump. Three lessons on the pushes and pulls that start, stop and steer things.
Forces and Motion: Crash, Push and Stop
Why you lurch forward when the bus brakes, how fast a toy car really goes, why heavier carts hit harder, and how to build a crumple zone that saves an egg. Four lessons on inertia, speed, mass and stopping safely.
Build It, Launch It
Egg drops, paper planes and balloon rockets, done properly at home. Three engineering challenges where kids build, test, fix and explain the pushes and pulls behind what happened.
Forces at Work: Gravity, Resistance, Levers and Pulleys
Do heavy things really fall faster? Why are fast swimmers shaped like torpedoes? How can a small push lift a big load? Three hands-on lessons on gravity, air and water resistance, friction, levers and pulleys, measured in newtons with homemade and simple tools.
Reading passages
- How to Make a Simple Compass Grade 3 · How-to
- The Lever Grade 3 · Information
- The Inclined Plane Grade 3 · Information
- The Pulley Grade 4 · Information
- The Wedge Grade 4 · Information
- Isaac Newton: a Life in Science Grade 5 · Biography
- Timeline: Isaac Newton Grade 5 · Timeline
- The Wheel and Axle Grade 5 · Information
- The Screw Grade 5 · Information
- Isaac Newton: How One Life Changed the World Grade 7 · Biography
- Isaac Newton: More Than a Flash of Genius Grade 9 · Biography