Science Curriculum Preview Committee Clarification of Learning Results

Revised 08/22/04

3-4

I2: Draw conclusions about how the amount of force affects the motion of more massive and less massive objects.

Curriculum Organizing Questions

  • What causes objects to move?
  • What is a force?
  • How can you change the motion of this object by using a force?
  • How does the weight (mass) change the effect of a given force?
Elaboration

Use common examples of forces that children are familiar with and give them many opportunities to explore.

  • Changes in speed or direction of motion are caused by forces. Benchmarks 4F1.
  • The greater the force is, the greater the change in motion will be. Benchmarks 4F1.
  • The more massive an object is, the less effect a given force will have. Benchmarks 4F1.
Developmental & Instructional Implications

Students hold various meanings for the word "force" (See Developmental & Instructional Implications of MLR I1).

Students can be more experimental and more quantitative as their measurement skills sharpen. Determining the speed of fast things and slow things can present a challenge that students will readily respond to. They also can work out for themselves some of the general relationships between force and change of motion and internalize the notion of force as a push or pull of one thing on another--whether rubber bands, magnets, or explosions. Benchmarks p. 89.

Examples

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