NATIONAL
LEARNING
CAMP
Science Grade 8
What can you say about the picture?
Question
What does the
word BALANCE
mean in
everyday terms?
BALANCE
• When something is
stable.
• Equal.
• Not falling over.
What can you say about the picture?
Question
What does the
word FORCE
mean in
everyday terms?
FORCE
• To break something open,
like to force a door open
• A push or a pull.
• Something that makes things
move (accelerate) – like a
magnet pulling a metal toy.
What can you say about the picture?
Question
What does balance
mean in scientific
terms when we are
referring to
forces?
BALANCE FORCES
• The forces are the same.
• The forces are cancelling
each other;
• One force counteracts the
other.
Question
How could you illustrate
or represent balanced
forces? (you can use
words, symbols, or
drawings)
Some possible representations of balanced force:
seesaw
A Pushing the palms of your hands together balance beam for gymnastics
Standing on one foot
Component 1:
• Q1a. What does the word balance mean in
everyday terms?
• Q1b. What does the word force mean in everyday
terms?
• Q2. What does balance mean in scientific terms
when we are referring to forces?
• Q3. How could you illustrate or represent
balanced forces? (you can use words, symbols, or
drawings)
LANGUAGE PRACTICE
•Force;
•Same direction;
•Opposite direction;
•Cancel;
•Representations;
•Situations
KEY CONCEPTS
let’s talk about BALANCE & FORCE
EQUAL FORCES
- acting in opposite directions in the same line
cancel each other and are described as being ‘in
balance’.
KEY CONCEPTS
let’s talk about BALANCE & FORCE
BUT IF
- The movement of objects is changed if the
forces acting on them are not ‘in balance’.
EQUAL FORCES - The same sized forces
Ways that the motion of objects might be changed:
• They could start moving from being still
• They could speed up
• They could slow down
• They could change direction
• They could stop moving.
Needs to happen for a force to change an object’s motion
• If an object is still, you would need to apply a force to it to make it
move (like push it or pull it)
• If an object is moving, you could apply a force to it to make it slow
down, to make it change direction, or to make it go faster
COMPONENT 4B
Q1. What does equal forces mean?
Q2. What are some ways that the motion
of objects might be changed?
Q3. What needs to happen for a force to
change an object’s motion
SITUATION 1: have same size & shape of arrow is representing balance
forces. So if an object are balanced, the motion of object will not move
SITUATION 2: have bigger arrow on the right side meaning to say this has
a greater force. So an object are unbalanced, the motion of object will move
SITUATION 3: the arrow on the right side is larger meaning to say it has a
greater force
SITUATION 4: have the same arrow that represents balanced forces
Component 4C
Q1. The stimulus shows four ways to represent forces
using symbols. Which situations are representing
balanced forces?
Q2. Assuming the square objects have the same size and
mass (weight), what do you predict would be the
movement of the objects in each situation when the
forces represented were applied to the objects?
Q3. Write a general statement that describes the
relationship between forces and the motion of an
object?
NATIONAL
LEARNING
CAMP
Science Grade 8
COMPONENT 1
Q1. What does force mean in Science?
Q2. What are some forces we can
recognize in our daily lives?
Q3. What forces interact when you
slide down a playground slide?
COMPONENT 1
Q1. What does force mean in Science?
• A force is an influence that causes an
object to change its velocity.
•A push or a pull;
•Something that makes things move
(accelerate).
COMPONENT 1
Q2. What are some forces we can recognize in our daily
lives?
• When you kick a football – (Applied force)
• The force that makes you feel you heavy; weight; – (Gravity)
• Attracting force of metal to a magnet – (Magnetic)
• The static in your hair when you brush it in dry weather –
(Electrostatic)
• Force that holds you up or pushes back against gravity –
(Normal force).
COMPONENT 1
Q3. What forces interact when you slide down a
playground slide?
• As you climb up to the top of the slide, you are
climbing against gravity.
• When you slide, gravity pulls you down, but friction
makes your legs and hands feel hotter.
• When you slide, you can feel gravity pulling you down
and you can feel the force of the slide pushing up, but
friction slows you down a bit too.
Q1. What is an experiment?
- A practical investigation.
Q2. What things did the students keep the same
in their experiment?
• The cars; or The weight of the cars; or The size and
shape of the cars;
• The type of track;
• The length of track that was flat on the ground;
Q3. What do the student’s results (data) show?
• That Car 3 moved further than Cars 1 & 2, and
that Car 2 moved further than Car 1.
• That the greater force resulted in a car moving
the greatest distance – so the movement of the
car indicated the strength of the force acting on
the car as it ran down the ramp.
