Unit 2 — Force and Motion
Description
Students investigate the effects of balanced and unbalanced forces on the motion of objects. Students plan and conduct investigations, make observations and measurements of motion patterns, and use evidence to predict future motion. The unit emphasizes cause and effect relationships and the pattern recognition skills needed to understand how forces affect object movement.
Essential Questions
- How do forces affect the motion of an object?
- What are balanced and unbalanced forces?
- How can we predict an object's motion based on patterns?
- What role do patterns play in understanding motion?
Learning Objectives
- Plan and conduct an investigation to provide evidence of the effects of balanced and unbalanced forces on an object's motion
- Make observations and/or measurements of an object's motion to provide evidence that a pattern can be used to predict future motion
- Understand that balanced forces produce no change in motion while unbalanced forces cause changes in speed or direction
- Identify cause and effect relationships between forces and motion
- Use patterns of motion to make predictions about future movement
Supplemental Resources
- Printed graphic organizers for recording investigation data
- Index cards for labeling forces and motion observations
- Rulers for measuring object movement distances
Physical Sciences
Students read informational texts and cite textual evidence to demonstrate understanding of science concepts across all units. They ask and answer questions about weather, forces, traits, life cycles, ecosystems, and environmental change using content-specific texts. Students write opinion pieces, informative and explanatory texts, and conduct short research projects to build knowledge about science topics. They also report orally on topics with appropriate facts and descriptive details, and use information from illustrations, maps, and photographs to support scientific understanding.
Students apply mathematical reasoning and tools across science units to collect, represent, and analyze data. They measure liquid volumes and masses using standard units, draw scaled picture graphs and bar graphs to represent data sets, generate measurement data using rulers and display results on line plots, and reason abstractly and quantitatively when analyzing patterns and cause-and-effect relationships in investigations. Students also use operations and algebraic thinking when comparing and solving problems based on scientific data.
Formative Assessments
- Students conduct fair tests using controlled variables to investigate force effects
- Students record observations and measurements of object motion
- Students identify patterns in motion data and use them to make predictions
- Students explain cause and effect relationships between forces and resulting motion
Summative Assessment
Students design a model that demonstrates how different size forces affect the motion of an object
Benchmark Assessment
— not configured —
Alternative Assessment
Students may demonstrate understanding through hands-on manipulation of objects and forces with teacher observation and questioning, or by sorting and matching pictures and diagrams of balanced and unbalanced forces to their effects on motion. Simplified data recording sheets with visual supports or word banks may be provided to record observations.
IEP (Individualized Education Program)
Students may benefit from graphic organizers that visually separate the cause (force applied) from the effect (change in motion), supporting their understanding of this unit's core relationship. Providing sentence frames for recording observations and explaining predictions can reduce the writing demand while keeping the focus on scientific reasoning. Oral responses or dictated explanations should be accepted as alternatives to written summaries, especially when students are describing what they notice about motion patterns. Breaking the summative design task into smaller, sequenced steps with checkpoints can help students manage the planning process without losing sight of the overall goal.
Section 504
Students should be given extended time during investigation tasks and when recording motion observations, particularly if fine motor demands or processing speed are a concern. Preferential seating near the demonstration or investigation area ensures students can closely observe object movement without visual or auditory distraction. Printed direction cards that outline each step of an investigation can help students stay on track during hands-on work.
ELL / MLL
Visual supports such as diagrams, labeled illustrations of objects in motion, and short video clips showing forces in action can help students connect new vocabulary—such as balanced, unbalanced, force, and motion—to concrete examples. Directions for investigations should be given in short, clear steps, and students should be encouraged to restate what they will do before beginning. Where possible, connecting unit vocabulary to cognates or allowing brief use of the home language to process ideas before sharing in English supports both comprehension and participation.
At Risk (RTI)
Connecting the concept of force and motion to familiar, everyday experiences—such as pushing a door open or a ball rolling down a ramp—can build the entry point students need before engaging with more formal investigation tasks. Reducing the number of variables students are asked to track at one time allows them to build confidence with cause-and-effect reasoning before increasing complexity. Providing partially completed observation recording templates gives students a structure to work within so the focus remains on scientific thinking rather than the mechanics of documentation.
Gifted & Talented
Students who demonstrate early mastery of force and motion concepts can be challenged to investigate the relationship between the magnitude of a force and the degree of change in an object's motion, moving beyond simple identification of balanced versus unbalanced forces. Encouraging students to develop their own testable questions—and to design investigations that control multiple variables—pushes into deeper scientific reasoning and data analysis. These students might also explore how patterns of motion observed in small-scale investigations connect to real-world phenomena such as engineering design or athletic performance, fostering interdisciplinary thinking.