Day 1: Intro to Forces

FQ:  How do we recognize and name forces?

1. Intro to Forces:

When you ride a bike, your foot pushes against the pedal. The push makes the wheels of the bike move.
When you drop something, it is pulled to the ground by gravity force from the earth.
A PUSH or a PULL is a FORCE. 
Forces cause changes in motion.  In other words, they cause acceleration:  speed up, slow down or change direction. 

Naming Forces:
→ Forces are measured in Newtons (N)
→ Forces act in a particular direction, so we represent them with an arrow.
→ Forces sometimes cannot be seen, but their effects can. 

When we label forces, we want to indicate what object is giving the force and what object is receiving the force.

Therefore, we will use the following notation:

Force from giver, on receiver, direction

For example, the gravity force acting on a person would be written

Gravity force from Earth, on person down

Types of forces:

• applied / normal force:  a push when 2 things touch. 
• gravity force:  pull of earth on objects down
• magnetic force:  attracts together
• tension force:  pull from a rope or string
• elastic / spring force:  pull or push from a spring or something stretchy
• buoyant force:  liquid or gas pushing upward.
• friction force:  a push or pull when sliding or holding in place
• drag force:  (air resistance):  an upward force when falling through liquid or gas.
• Read more about forces here.  

2. Group Activity:  Identify forces from images:  On a whiteboard, label the forces present in each picture.

3. Competition:  Broom Ball!  

Where does the ball speed up?  slow down?  change direction?

4. Optional / Advanced:  Concept Builders 

   Reading:  Types of forces

   Recognizing Forces Concept Builder

   Balanced/Unbalanced Concept Builder