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?
When you open a door, squash soft dough flat or stretch a band, you are using a force: 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.
Which of those do you think you use most often in school?
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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