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B. Energy change is understood in terms of forces--pushes or pulls.
C. Some forces act through physical contact, while others act at a distance.
Clarification for grades K-5: The target understanding for students in the elementary grades should focus on Big Ideas A, B, and C.
Clarification for grades 6-8: The target understanding for students in grades 6-8 should begin to transition the focus to a more specific definition of forces and changes in motion. Net forces create a change in motion. A change in momentum occurs when a net force is applied to an object over a time interval.
Grades 9-12, Standard 12: Motion - A. Motion can be measured and described qualitatively and quantitatively. Net forces create a change in motion. B. Momentum is conserved under well-defined conditions. A change in momentum occurs when a net force is applied to an object over a time interval.
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STEM Lessons - Model Eliciting Activity
The students will be asked to help a company choose a design to market for their new business. The company gives students four prototypes to begin with, but asks the students to create one of their own if they wish to further the research. After choosing one of the models and writing a report to declare their findings and explain their reasoning, students will then be given restrictions to the parachute. They are asked to find a material that is light yet strong, and resistant to tearing and breaking. Students will have to create parachutes using the chosen model but made with different materials to establish the best overall material.
Model Eliciting Activities, MEAs, are open-ended, interdisciplinary problem-solving activities that are meant to reveal students’ thinking about the concepts embedded in realistic situations. Click here to learn more about MEAs and how they can transform your classroom.
In this MEA, students will select the robots that are more efficient at doing a certain type of job. They will have to analyze data tables that include force, force units, mass, mass units, and friction.
Model Eliciting Activities, MEAs, are open-ended, interdisciplinary problem-solving activities that are meant to reveal students’ thinking about the concepts embedded in realistic situations. Click here to learn more about MEAs and how they can transform your classroom.
Original Student Tutorials Science - Grades K-8
Use models to solve balance problems on a space station in this interactive, math and science tutorial.
Examine contact and non-contact forces such as gravity, electrical, and magnetic forces in this interactive tutorial.
Student Resources
Original Student Tutorials
Use models to solve balance problems on a space station in this interactive, math and science tutorial.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Examine contact and non-contact forces such as gravity, electrical, and magnetic forces in this interactive tutorial.
Type: Original Student Tutorial
Video/Audio/Animation
The Sun produces a solar wind — a continuous flow of charged particles — that can affect us on Earth. It can, for example, disrupt communications, navigation systems, and satellites. Solar activity can also cause power outages, such as the extensive Canadian blackout in 1989. In this video segment adapted from NASA, learn about solar storms and their effects on Earth.
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In this hands-on and web interactive project, students design and build a bird wing powerful enough to spin them in an office chair when it is flapped. By modifying the shape, size, and/or materials used in their design based on observations of natural and man-made transportation methods, students will learn about thrust, forces, durability, and energy use.
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