JOINING FORCES KS3 RESOURCES - … · Balanced and unbalanced forces Floating Density Pressure ... JOINING FORCES KS3 RESOURCES 8 Science Concept: Pulling the thread straight rubs

JOINING FORCES KS3 RESOURCES

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Welcome to the KS3 Teacher Resources for Joining Forces.

Joining Forces is a collaborative partnership between three UK science centres - INTECH in Winchester, Techniquest in Cardiff, and Hands On in Oxford. The partnership has been funded by the DfES.

This booklet is for the KS3 session. It includes pre- and post- visit activities based on some of the forces concepts covered in the Joining Forces show. The project was developed to help pupils and teachers with the transition from primary to secondary schools by developing a linked experience. With this in mind the activities that have been developed, particularly in the pre-show material, use materials that would be used in primary schools or at home. The idea is to introduce the topic through fun, interesting and thought provoking activities. This should break down any fears that science at secondary school is any different to that in primary schools. It is a good way to get pupils thinking about forces, finding out what they know and any misconceptions that they may have.

The layout for each activity includes a short introduction and links to curriculum, details of what you will need, and how to do the activity.

At the back of the booklet there are several pages of additional resources. This includes a page of spellings and definitions of the major words linked to unit 7K. There is also a revision sheet, a page of starter activities and a list of recommended websites.


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Pre Show Activities

Contents

Space speeder 3

Traffic light game 4

Traffic light game—questions 5

Forces Circus- Introduction 6

1)Stick to the ruler 6

2)Resistance is futile 7

3)Control the stopper 8

3)Acrobatic cards 8

4)Balloon, buggies & magnets 9

5)Density and pressure 10

6) Floating and sinking 11

Post Show Activities

Electromagnetic game sheet 1 12

Electromagnetic game sheet 2 13

Bed of pins with jelly 14

Balloon Rocket 15

Additional Resources

Spellings 16

Revision notes 17

Starter activities 18

Websites 19


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Science Concept: Friction can be reduced between surfaces. The space speeder also shows that unbalanced forces change the speed or direction of movement of a object; This activity can lead to discussions of Newton’s Laws.

Curriculum Links: Unit 7K

Sc4 2c, d

That friction is a force which opposes motion. Describe some ways of reducing friction between an object and a solid surface and some situations in which friction is useful. Describe situations in which forces are unbalanced and use this idea to explain a change in shape of an object and a change in the direction of a moving object.

You will need:

An old or damaged CD A bottle cap from a water bottle A normal balloon Glue

To make the speeder Glue the bottle top over the centre hole of the CD. Let the glue dry. Blow up the balloon and hold the neck tightly. Put the blown up balloon over the bottle top, without letting the air out. Put the CD face down on a smooth surface, like a tabletop. Let the speeder go.

Some questions to think about

1. Explain how the speeder works?

2. Why is this an example of low friction movement?

3. What happens if you push your speeder gently?

4. What happens if you stop pushing your speeder?

5. One example of high friction is pushing a toy car on a carpet. How is the

movement of your speeder different?

Space Speeder

Pre Show Activities


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Science Concept:

Thinking and learning about forces through fun and thought provoking activities. Assessing pupils understanding of forces.


Sc4 2a, b, c, d, g Unit 4e, unit 6e as a way of assessing prior knowledge. Use questions 1– 20. Unit 7k if using as revision. Use all the questions. Questions can easily be adapted to the level of the group or the purpose of the activity. This activity can be used for any topic.

You will need: Coloured card 10 cm square in red, yellow or orange, and green enough for each child to have one of each colour.

Running the activity Red means FALSE Green means TRUE Yellow or orange means I’M NOT SURE

The game follows this sequence;

Read the question.

Allow a short period of time for pupils to consider their answer.

Count 1,2,3 ‘Show your cards!’

Pupils all hold up one of their cards at the same time.

Adaptations

If you take the yellow card away you can play the game so there is one winner. Pupils have to sit down if they get it wrong; the last pupil standing is the winner. Play the games in teams. Use electronic voting if available. Use at the beginning of the topic to assess prior knowledge or as revision at the end of the topic. Develop your own questions for any topic.

Forces Traffic Light Game

Pre Show Activities


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Forces traffic light game question sheet 1 1) Gravity only happens on Earth? False. There is gravitational pull between all

objects. 2) Gravity attracts things towards the surface of the Earth. False. Gravity attracts

towards the centre of the Earth. 3) Your weight will vary depending on where you are in space. True. Weight is a

downward force due to gravity and the size of this force is dependant on the size of the planet you are on.

4) Weight is measured in Kilograms. False. Weight is a force and forces are measured in Newtons.

5) Far away from Earth objects have no mass. False. Mass is a measure of how much matter is in an object.

6) Mass is measured in Kilograms. True 7) Gravity decreases when objects are further apart. True 8) Gravity keeps the planets orbiting the sun. True 9) The force that always acts opposite to the direction of the motion of an object

is called friction. True 10) Aluminium is attracted to a magnet? False. Only steel, iron, nickel and cobalt

are. 11) Friction is a force which acts between two surfaces. True 12) The opposite poles of a magnet repel each other. False. Opposite poles of a

magnet attract each other. 13) Mass is NOT a force. True 14) Friction can be reduced using a lubricant. True 15) On Earth an apple with a mass of 100g has a weight of 1Newton. True 16) You can jump higher on the moon than you can on Earth. True 17) Drag is another name for air resistance. True

18) The length of the arrow indicates the direction of the force acting. False. It indicates the size of the force

19) When forces are concentrated in a small area the pressure is greater. True 20) Non-contact forces affect an object without touching it. True 21) Non-contact forces are pushes and pulls. False. Non contact forces are

gravity, magnetic and electromagnetic forces. 22) A force can not be put into or stored in an object. True 23) An object sinks because it is less dense than the water it is in. False. An object

sinks because it has a greater density than the liquid that it is in. 24) A parachute uses friction to slow the parachutist down. True 25) Friction can produce heat. True 26) The tendency for objects to stay put is called inertia. True 27) An object which floats will still show a weight reading on a Newton meter.

False. An object which floats shows a zero weight reading. 28) It is easier to float in sea water than in fresh water. True 29) The forces are unbalanced on a stationary object. False. The forces are in fact

balanced. 30) The speed of an object is calculated by dividing the distance the object travels

by the time taken. True

Pre Show Activities


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Science Concept:

Thinking and learning about forces through fun and thought provoking activities. Encourage pupils to predict outcomes, carry out activities and ‘ask why does this happen?’ This will encourage pupils to relate science concepts to the real world and to question what they see.

Curriculum Links: unit 7k Sc4 2a, c, d, g The activities in the circus are a brief introduction to the following topics:

Friction Balanced and unbalanced forces Floating Density Pressure

Activities: 1) Stick to the ruler 2) Resistance is futile 3) Control the stopping and acrobatic card 4) Balloon, buggies and magnets 5) Density and pressure 6) Floating and sinking Set the activities up in stations so that pupils are able to rotate around the stations. The object is to allow pupils to experience the effects of friction and to get them thinking about the topic. Some of the activities could be done as demonstrations by staff. A selection of these activities could be used.

Forces Circus– introduction

Science Concept:

This activity plays friction forces against gravitational forces. The ruler was practically all balanced on the inner finger, so very little of its weight was taken by the outer finger. Less weight means less friction. So the friction-free outer finger can move easily towards the middle, when it started to share more weight with the other finger. The fingers always meet in the middle.

Forces circus-1)Stick to the ruler

Curriculum Links: unit 7k sc4 2d

That friction is a force which opposes motion.

Activity: Pupils place the ruler so that their fingers are at the end of the ruler, and it is balanced. They then need to move their fingers towards the centre. Can they explain what happens?

Pre Show Activities


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Science Concept:

Students learn about friction. Students observe, predict and record an object's motion over smooth, slippery and rough surfaces.


Sc4 2d That friction is a force which opposes motion. Describe some ways of reducing friction between an object and a solid surface and some situations in which friction is useful.

a) Marble drop You will need:

3 Marbles A smooth surface (example, a tile floor or a large smooth tabletop) Piece of very rough sandpaper (15cm X 15cm or larger)

Drop a few marbles, a short distance above the smooth surface. What did you observe? Is there much friction between the marbles and the smooth surface? What do you think will happen when the marbles are dropped on the piece of rough sandpaper? Try to drop the marbles onto the sandpaper from the same height as you did for the smooth surface. What happened?

b) Shove halfpenny You will need:

3 coins A wooden surface (cutting board or desk top) A carpeted surface or a piece of carpeting A baking sheet Water Access to a freezer Piece of plywood or very sturdy cardboard

What do you think will happen when you flick a coin across the following surfaces: wood, carpet, ice, sandpaper? Which will have the most friction? Which will have the least friction? Flick the coins across each surface. Try to use the same amount of force each time. What happens if you use more force to flick the coin across the surfaces?

Forces Circus– 2)Resistance is futile

Pre Show Activities


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Science Concept:

Pulling the thread straight rubs it against the foil, increasing the friction and preventing gravity from having its way. Sometimes we want to reduce friction. To do this we use a lubricant such as oil. This is demonstrated by the card trick.


Sc4 2d

That friction is a force which opposes motion. Describe some ways of reducing friction between an object and a solid surface and some situations in which friction is useful.

a) Control the Stopper You will need:

Baking foil ( a strip 8cm wide) Thread Pencil

Activity Screw up the foil into a ball. Then poke a V- shaped hole through the ball. Next push the thread through. Hold the thread loosely and watch what happens. Then gently pull the thread and watch what happens to the ball. Think about what forces might be acting here.

b) Acrobatic Cards ( good as a demonstration) You will need: An old pack of cards Cooking oil Wine glass ( the sort with a narrow, tapering bowl) (Notes for demonstrator You can perform this like a trick and have a script to go with it.) The type of glass is important and test it before use. Bend the first card and push into the glass and it should stay there, held by the friction against the side. If you put a line of oil on either side of the glass then insert a card so the edges are touching the oil. The card should jump up as the friction is now reduced.

Forces Circus– 3)Control the stopper & Acrobatic Cards

thread

foil

Pre Show Activities


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Science Concept:

Introduce magnetism and how magnets behave. Show that forces that are unbalanced cause a change in shape, direction or speed of an object.

Curriculum Links: unit 7K, 8J

Sc4 2a, c, d 3d

Describe situations in which forces are un balanced and use this idea to explain a change in shape of an object and a change in the direction of a moving object. Identify magnetic materials and their properties, including forces of attraction and repulsion.

a) Balloon Experiment a) Blow up a balloon and ask the pupils what forces are acting b) Let go of the balloon. 1) What happens? 2) What forces are acting on the balloon?

b) Buggy Racers You will need: 1 steep slope 1 shallow slope Buggy or car Let the buggy go down each slope and answer the questions. 1) What forces are acting? 2) Why do they change speed or direction?

c) Powerful Magnets

Wooden Peg

Wooden base Place a magnet on the peg and then place the second one on top. 1) What forces are acting? 2) What happens if you turn the top magnet over and place it back on the peg?

Forces circus– 4)Balloon, buggies and magnets

magnets

Pre Show Activities


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Science Concept: 1) Shaking the rice shows the motion of

particles in a liquid. The ball bearing sinks because it is denser than the rice around it. The polystyrene floats because it is less dense then the rice.

2) Less dense gasses rise. 3) The difference in pressure allows the

tube to move up and down in the bottle

Curriculum Links: Unit 7

Sc2 c

That when objects are immersed in water there is an upthrust on them. That upthrust is different in different liquids.

1)Disappearing metal ball in rice You will need: A heavy ball bearing A polystyrene ball Container of rice Place the balls in the rice and then gently shake the container. 1) What happens to the two balls? 2) Try and explain why this happens.

2)Blowing bubbles with helium ( demonstration) You will need: Helium balloon ( or supply) Rubber tubing Soap solution Attach the rubber tube to the helium balloon and dip into the soap solution. Then watch the bubbles form. 1) Why do the bubbles rise rapidly to the ceiling?

3)Cartesian Diver You will need: An inverted combustion tube in a sealed lemonade bottle (2l) Gently squeeze the sides of the bottle and watch what happens. 1) Try to explain what is happening using your scientific knowledge.

Forces Circus– 5)Density and pressure

Pre Show Activities


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a) Raisins in lemonade You will need: Raisins Glass of lemonade Drop a few raisins in the lemonade and watch what happens. Explain what is happening using your scientific knowledge.

b) Floating and sinking in different liquids. You will need: A glass containing 4 liquids of different densities E.g. immiscible liquids- golden syrup, coloured water, cooking oil Drop small objects and see if they float or sink. The different liquids have different densities. The densest liquid sinks to the bottom of the glass. Use this information to help explain what happens to the objects that are dropped into the glass.

c) Does the skin of a lemon help it to sink or float?

You will need: Two lemons, 1 peeled and 1 with the peel still on. What will happen to the lemons if you put them into a jar of water?

Science Concept:

The bubbles form on the rough surface of the raisins. As the bubbles form the raisins will float to the surface of the lemonade and then sink as the bubbles escape. The density of the liquids used will affect whether an object floats or sinks. The unpeeled lemon floats. There is air inside the skin and makes it less dense like armbands.

Curriculum Links: Unit 7 Sc4 2c

That when objects are immersed in water there is an upthrust on them. That upthrust is different in different liquids.

Forces Circus– 6)Floating and sinking

Pre Show Activities


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Science Concept:

Magnets have forces of attraction and repulsion. A current in a coil produces a magnetic field pattern similar to that of a bar magnet. Electromagnets are able to attract magnetic materials.

Curriculum Links: Unit 8J Sc4 1e, 1f Identify magnetic materials and their properties, including forces of attraction and repulsion. Use the idea of forces to describe the patterns of magnetic fields produced by electromagnets.

To make the electromagnet You will need: 6v Battery Bell wire or thin wire with plastic insulation(16-20 gauge) Large nail– Test the nail before hand as some nails will not work due to low iron levels Paper clips

How to make it: 1.Start 10cm in from one end of the wire and coil it

around the nail until there is approximately 10cm left on either side.

2.Strip back the plastic to expose 1cm of wiring at each end.

3.Fold the wire over to make hooks. 4.Hook the ends to the battery pack. The metal

prongs and the exposed wiring will heat up during this process. Do not allow students to touch this area. To break the connection simply unhook the wire, remembering to touch only plastic covered areas. Wait for the metal to cool before touching.

5.Move the nail to pick up the paper clips.

To make electromagnetic shot putting game

You will need: An electromagnet with switch A large cereal box 2 strips of cardboard about 5cmx25cm A sheet of paper the same size as the box A pencil and ruler, scissors and sticky tape Close the end of the box and stick down with tape. Cut out 1 side and lie the box down flat. Stick the strips of cardboard 1 either side of the box, at one end. Bend the tops until they meet and stick them together with tape. Hang the electromagnet over the arch, so it can swing easily, and stick the flex to the top of the arch with tape. Tape the flex down 1 strip of the cardboard. Draw lines across and down the piece of paper. Write a number in each section, putting the higher numbers at the sides. Put the paper in the box.

Electromagnetic Game



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Science Concept:

Magnets have forces of attraction and repulsion. A current in a coil produces a magnetic field pattern similar to that of a bar magnet. Electromagnets are able to attract magnetic materials.

Curriculum Links: Unit 8J Sc4 1e, 1f Identify magnetic materials and their properties, including forces of attraction and repulsion. Use the idea of forces to describe the patterns of magnetic fields produced by electromagnets.

How to play Switch on the electro-magnet and stick a small nail or paper clip to it. Pull the electromagnet back and let it swing. Switch off and see which number the nail or clip drops on. Keep the score for each player. If the nail or clip goes out of the box, the player loses a point. The player with the highest score wins. This activity could easily be adapted to allow pupils to design and make their own game.

Electromagnetic Game– sheet 2



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Science Concept:

Pressure is caused by a force over a given area. The smaller the area the force acts on the greater the pressure that occurs.

Curriculum Links: Unit 9L

Sc4 2g

The quantitative relationship between force, area and pressure and its application.

Pressure– Bed of Pins with Jelly

Bed of pins with Jelly You will need: 3 boards with drawing pins spaced out. Each board should have pins stuck with the points up. There should be increasing more pins on each board per given area. Equal sizes of jelly cubes.

Place the jelly cubes on to the pins and watch what happens. You now need to explain what happened using what you know about pressure.

Drawing pin with spike

pointing up

Board



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Balloon Rocket


Sc4 2c

That unbalanced forces change the speed or direction of movement of objects.

Balloon Rocket You will need:

Science Concept:

Aerospace engineers apply Newton’s Third Law (“to every action there is an equal and opposite reaction”) to take us to the Moon and beyond. With this open-ended project, pupils become the aerospace engineer, designing and building a balloon rocket to transport your cargo.

• Tape • Clothes peg • Straw • Scissors • Scrap paper • Cereal box (or stiff paper) • Paper or plastic cup (optional) • Balloon (long skinny ones work best) • Long piece of fishing line (or smooth string) • Bottle cap or marble (to use as cargo)

Your Guidelines 1. The propulsion for your rocket will be an inflated balloon. 2. Build your cargo container from materials such as paper, a cereal box, or a paper or plastic cup. 3. Your rocket will travel along a piece of fishing line, which is threaded through a straw on your rocket. Remember to include the straw somewhere in your design. 4. It is up to you to find the best way to attach the cargo container to the straw and the balloon.

Launching Your Rocket 1. Blow up your balloon and use the clothes peg to hold it closed. 2. Tape one end of the fishing line to a wall about chest high. Hold the other end in your hand at approximately the same height. 3. Load your cargo (bottle cap, marble, or any other small, light object) into the container. 4. Thread the fishing line through the straw attached to your balloon rocket.

5. Unclip your clothes peg and watch your rocket fly!



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Spellings and Definitions

Air resistance Air resistance is the frictional force from air that slows down moving objects. It is another name for drag.

Arrow Shows the size and direction of a force.

Balanced All forces are equal in opposite directions.

Density Number of particles in a particular space. It is measured in g/cm3. Density = mass ÷ volume

Drag Force from the air that slows down moving objects.

Force A push, pull or turn is a force and is measured in Newtons (N).

Friction Friction is a contact force that slows moving objects down and makes it difficult to move stationary objects.

Gram Unit of mass that is 1/1000th of a kilogram.

Gravity Is the force that pulls objects downwards towards the centre of the Earth.

Kilogram Unit of mass. (kg) I kilogram equals 1000 grams.

Lubricant A liquid that is used to reduce friction. E.g. oil.

Mass Mass is the amount of ‘stuff’ in a body. Mass is measured in kilograms (kg).

Newton Unit of force (N).

Newton Meter Apparatus used to measure forces.

Speed How fast something is going.

Stationary An object is not moving.

Streamlined Smooth shape that reduces drag.

Unbalanced All forces are not equal.

Upthrust Upward force from fluids.

Weight The force on an object because of gravity. It is measured in Newtons.



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Revision notes

Forces come in pairs.

A force can not be put into or stored in an object.

Identifying forces Which forces are acting? Where are the forces acting? What are the size and direction of these forces?

Non-contact forces Non-contact forces affect an object without touching it. These forces include gravity, magnetism and electromagnetism. These are also known as field forces.

Contact forces One object exerts a force on another as long as they are touching.

Where there are several forces acting, the overall forces is called the resultant force. If an object is travelling in a straight line at a constant speed the overall resultant force is zero. If an object is not moving then the resultant force is zero.

Friction arises when two surface move over each other. Air resis-tance and water resistance are fric-tion forces that occur when an ob-ject moves through air or water.

Force arrows help to show the size and direction a par-ticular force. The length of the arrow indicates the size of the force acting. The direction of the arrow indicates the direction in which the force is acting.

Pressure Forces can be spread out over a large area to reduce the pressure on the surface. When forces are concentrated in a small area the pressure is bigger.

Forces exerted by the floor on the box. Friction tries to stop the box moving.

Floor

Box

This arrow shows the size and direction of the force exerted by the box on the floor.

This arrow shows the size and direction of the force exerted by the floor on the box.



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Starter Activities

Taboo Pupils work in groups of 4. One member of the group is given a card with a word which they have to define and under it, are the taboo words. The taboo words are words that pupils are not allowed to use to define the word. The other members of the group have to guess the word.

Chain Questions Game

This is a timed activity. Each pupil has a card which has a question on one side and an answer to another question on the back. The first child asks the question and the class must look for the answer on their own card. The pupil with the answer then reads it out. If this answer is correct then they ask the question on their card. The game goes on until the first pupil has the last answer. Stop the time and tell the class what their time is. This game came be repeated to see if they can beat their time.

Pairs Pupils have one card and definitions on the other cards. They must then choose the correct definition in the fastest time. This game can be played in pairs/threes. It will help pupils to develop discussion skills and peer learning.

Word puzzles

To aid the development of literacy skills and reinforce scientific vocabulary word games are very beneficial. Anagrams, crosswords and missing vowels ( key words with the vowels missing) are examples of these.

Quiz Pupils can be divided into teams, pairs or take part individually. Develop a box/ boxes of questions that can be topic based or general science questions. At the beginning of a topic, lesson or at the end of the topic/ lesson these boxes can be used to have a fun quiz. They can be linked to house points or other awards or used just to revise topics.



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Useful web sites

www.rafmuseum.org.uk/london/learning/aeronauts

Printable worksheets on forces and motion. There are also other worksheets covering topics at KS3.

www.racemath.info Go to KS3 and pupils can test their knowledge of equations, watch a real life crash and read basic information on forces. Not very interactive.

www.engineeringinteract.org Go to resource bank and either do module or module questions. Very slow but possible use with the less able.

www.bbc.co.uk/school/bitesize Useful general revision.

www.howstuffworks.com Excellent information on how things work. E.g. How roller coasters work. Useful for all topics

www.physics.org A simple one stop shop for any question on physics. Type in your question at the top of the screen

www.skool.co.uk Interactive presentations on most topics covered in Yr7-9. Make sure your computer’s loudspeakers are turned on.

www.science-interactive.co.uk Produces power point presentations for schools to use in the classroom.

www.exploratorium.edu/ronh/weight/index.html Type in mass and will calculate weight on each planet.

http://www.scishop.org Select forces and their effects and it will link you to numerous web sites. Good for pupils for independent learning and research


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JOINING FORCES KS3 RESOURCES - … · Balanced and unbalanced forces Floating Density Pressure ... JOINING FORCES KS3 RESOURCES 8 Science Concept: Pulling the thread straight rubs