Experiment #4 - Forces (Interactions)

Somehow, my favourite topics are found in P6, especially Interaction and Energy. These topics tie in very much to everyday life and are so much easier to remember, if your child is able to link what they do daily into what has been taught.

Thus, this post also makes use of an object to teach forces.

Step 1:

*ADULT: get 2 similar toy cars (to ensure a fair test).

*CHILD & ADULT: both get a car each and place the cars at a distance but same “lane”. At the count of 3, both of you use some strength to push the cars till they collide.

Step 2:

*OBSERVE: watch how the cars “collide” into each other.

You vary the litmus tests, ie, what happens when more force is used, what happens when lesser force is used and so on.

Step 3:

*LINK: Prior knowledge is needed.

- what is a force

- push, pull

- effects of forces (change shape, change direction, etc)

*CHILD: guide child to think what has taken place after the cars are collided.

Suggested guide:

The cars are overturned when both forces applied are the same.

*NOTE: answers may vary, according to how/what the question asks. Children are required to observe what happened when same forces are applied.

*EXTENSION: replace one of the cars to a bigger model.

Get your child to observe what happened to both the vehicles when same forces are applied.

Suggested guide:

The bus moves and in the same direction but the car changed its direction when same forces are applied. (The bus has a bigger mass than the car.)

*NOTE: answers may vary, according to how/what the question asks. In this case, my students are required to observe what happened when same forces are applied.

Step 4:

*JOURNAL: encourage your child to create his/her own mindmap/journal/other forms of records.