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Pushes, Pulls, and Fields

Predict, test, and record pushes, pulls, and falling objects. Read a spring scale in newtons, slide a box across different surfaces, drop paper and parachutes, test what a magnet pulls, then explore magnets on a track.

What you will learn 8 goals
  1. 01Move an object with a force that touches it and with a force at a distance.
  2. 02See the magnetic field around a magnet and notice it gets weaker farther away.
  3. 03Observe how friction and gravity change the way an object moves.
  4. 04Compare how far the same push slides a box on ice, wood, grass, and carpet.
  5. 05Time drops to see how an object's shape changes air resistance, even when its mass stays the same.
  6. 06Test which materials a magnet pulls across an air gap, and how the pull changes with distance.
  7. 07Read and record force in newtons without calculating.
  8. 08Explain how unbalanced forces change motion and balanced forces can leave motion unchanged.

00 / 30 trials recorded

Predict first: on

Your work stays only on this device and clears when you leave or start over, so print it or save it as a PDF before you go.

Run a trial

  1. Pick a scene
  2. Set it up
  3. Predict
  4. Test
  5. Record

Pick a scene

Each scene is about one force. Pick one to set up a trial.

Show what you know

Force challenges

Read what happened. Pick the force that made it happen.

  1. A wagon is sitting still. You want it to roll toward you. Which force do you use?

  2. You let go of a ball and it drops to the floor. Which force pulls it down?

  3. A box slides across the carpet and slows to a stop. No person touches it after it starts sliding. Which force stops it?

  4. A toy with a parachute falls much more slowly than the same toy alone. Which force slows it down?

  5. A paper clip slides toward a magnet before they touch. Which force moves it?

Contact or non-contact?

Drag each force into a box. Or select a force, then select a box.

      Claim, Evidence, Reasoning

      Before you write

      Look back at your trials, the challenges, and your sort. Pick one force and how it changed an object's motion.

      Turn in your work

      1. Press Save my work as a PDF and type your name.
      2. In the print window, choose Save as PDF.
      3. Upload the PDF to your Google Classroom assignment.
      For teachers: assign this station

      Assign Pushes, Pulls, and Fields through Google Classroom. Students open the station link from the assignment. They do not need an account, and nothing they type is sent to Predict & Prove.

      Share to Classroom (opens Google Classroom in a new tab)

      1. Select Share to Classroom. Sign in with your school Google account if asked.
      2. Choose your class, then choose Create assignment.
      3. Attach the student recording sheet from your Google Drive copy and choose Make a copy for each student.
      4. Select Assign.

      Student work stays only on their own device and clears when they close the tab. Ask students to fill in their recording sheet as they go, or to print or save their work as a PDF before they leave.

      Station link: https://predictandprove.app/labs/pushes-pulls-and-fields