Anything that has push or pull creates a force. For anything to be undergoing motion a push or a pull force had to move it along. Forces can be created by many of different ways. There are commonly thought to six different types of forces including gravity, friction, elastic, electromagnetic, nuclear, and tension. Isaac Newton was fascinated with the concept of forces. He was especially keen to the concept of gravity. Gravity is a force that pulls things down to earth. Gravity is invisible and yet it is hugely influential on how anything travels on Earth and other planets. When an object rubs up against another it is referred to as friction. When a force is generated by electricity and magnetic fields created by it is referred to electromagnetic. When an object is stretched beyond its normal length and let force generate for it to return to its normal length is termed elastic. When the energy found within an atom and its subatomic particles is released this releases nuclear energy. Tension forces can be generated by pulling with string, cable systems, or chain-like materials on objects.
The worksheets start out pretty simple by just having students identify things that normally are pushed or pulled. Students then start to actually quantify these movements of the objects. We start with the concept of speed and then learn to compare it to the concept of velocity. We show students another factor in movement with the concept of acceleration. We then move on to how gravity creates movement and students will learn some of the math behind gravity. We will move on to be able to classify different types of energy and determine the power output of various objects. The sheets in this series have a wide range of applications from basic push/pull forces to advanced applications of calculating speed and forces associated with it.