PUSH
What force is applied when you kick a football?
Push
What force is used to lift a bucket from a well using a rope?
Pull
What action is needed to tighten a screw?
Twist
What force opposes motion between two touching surfaces?
Friction
A student tries to move a heavy desk, but it stays in the same place. What best describes the forces acting on the desk?
Balanced
A basketball player passes the ball to a teammate. What type of force is being used?
Push
When playing tug of war, how would you change the amount of force distributed in your body?
By going into a squat stance.
A mechanic uses a spanner to loosen a nut. What movement must the spanner make?
Turn
What are the two points of friction involved in tug of war?
Hands and Feet
A soccer ball rolls across the oval after being kicked and eventually comes to a stop without hitting anything. What caused it to stop?
Friction
Give an example of a push that changes an object's direction instead of its speed.
e.g. batting a cricket ball, deflecting a soccer ball.
A crane is lifting steel beams onto a building. Which part of the crane is applying the pulling force to the beams?
The cables
A student tries to open a locked door by pulling harder on the handle instead of rotating it. Explain why this is ineffective.
The handle needs to be turned to operate the latch; pulling alone won't release it.
A school wants to make its playground safer on rainy days. Suggest two changes that would increase grip and explain why they would help.
Use rougher surfaces or textured materials because they increase friction and reduce slipping.
You are asked to tighten a loose wheel on a toy car. Pushing or pulling on the axle won't work. What type of motion must you apply instead, and why?
You must turn or twist it because rotating the fastener tightens it.
Describe how the size of a push affects how quickly an object accelerates.
A larger push generally causes greater acceleration, making the object speed up faster.
Explain why pulling a suitcase with wheels is easier than dragging it without wheels
Wheels reduce friction, so less pulling force is needed.
A student uses a short screwdriver and then switches to one with a much wider handle. Explain why the second screwdriver is easier to use even if the same force is applied.
The larger handle allows a greater turning effect, making it easier to rotate the screw.
What do cyclists do to their chains in order to make the bike go faster?
Oil the chain
A student wants to slide a heavy cupboard across the classroom floor. Suggest two different ways to make the job easier and explain the science behind each method.
Reduce friction (e.g., use rollers or sliders) and/or increase the applied force (e.g., two people pushing or pulling together).
Two students push a box in opposite directions. One pushes harder than the other. What term do you use for this scenario and what will happen in the situation?
Unbalanced forces.
The box moves in the direction of the larger push.
A student says, "Rock climbing is just pulling yourself up with your arms." Evaluate this statement and explain why it is incomplete. (hint: 2 terms need to be mentioned)
The statement is incomplete because successful climbing also relies on pushing with the legs and friction between the shoes, hands, and rock. The legs often provide much of the upward force, while friction prevents slipping.
An engineer must choose between making a wheel twice as wide or doubling the length of the handle used to rotate it. Which change would make it easier to apply a turning effect and why?
Doubling the handle length increases the distance from the pivot, producing a greater turning effect for the same force.
A racing car needs enough grip to corner quickly but also wants to reduce resistance to go faster. Explain how engineers must balance these competing needs when designing the tyres.
Too little friction causes skidding, while too much increases resistance and wear. Tyres are designed to provide enough grip for control without creating unnecessary losses.
A delivery company must move identical boxes across ice, carpet, gravel, and polished concrete using the same pushing force each time. Rank the surfaces from easiest to hardest to move the boxes across and justify your ranking using the concept of resistance between surfaces.
Ice → polished concrete → carpet → gravel, because resistance (friction) generally increases across those surfaces, making the boxes harder to move.