What makes a door open? What makes soft dough go flat? What makes an elastic band get longer?
Hands up: do you think those are all the same kind of thing, or three different kinds of thing?
A force is a push or a pull. A push moves something away from you. A pull brings something towards you.
Forces can make things start, stop or change shape.
Two examples from out in the yard, not from in here. Kicking a football: that is a push, and it makes the ball start moving. Pulling your coat on: that is a pull, and your coat changes shape as it stretches over your arm.
Which of those three do you think you use most often in school? You are about to find out.
We are going on a force hunt around our room and, if we can, the yard.
Before we go: name one place you think you will find a push, and one place for a pull. Tell your partner why. Might any of those also change a shape (squash or stretch)?
Time to hunt for forces. At each stop, try the action yourself, then decide two things:
1. Was it a push or a pull?
2. What happened — did something start, stop, or change shape (squash or stretch)?
Visit the stations your teacher shows you. Stay with your group and keep hands and feet safe.
Back at your seat, open your Investigation Journal page.
Record at least three forces you found. For each one, write or draw: where it was, whether it was a push or a pull, and what happened (started, stopped, or changed shape — squashed or stretched).
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