Science // Area
Forces & Motion
Age coverage
Ages 5 to 14
Starts at age 5 // 3 topics
Starting at age 5
Your child is learning about forces — understanding how pushes and pulls can make objects move faster, slower, or change direction, and testing different ways to affect motion.
- Pushes & Pulls
Understand that pushes and pulls are forces that can change the speed or direction of an object's motion, and compare the effects of different strengths and…
Ages 5 to 6Concept - Forces Vocabulary
Name and describe forces using precise vocabulary — force, push, pull, twist, stretch, squash, contact force, non-contact force, gravity, weight, friction, air…
Ages 5 to 8Language - Testing Push & Pull Designs
Analyse data to determine if a design solution works as intended to change the speed or direction of an object with a push or pull
Ages 5 to 6Method
Starts at age 7 // 4 topics
Starting at age 7
Your child is exploring forces around them — discovering how magnets work, understanding that some forces need contact while others work at a distance, and investigating how different surfaces affect how things move.
- Friction & Surfaces
Compare how things move on different surfaces, noticing that some surfaces create more friction than others
Ages 7 to 8Concept - Contact & Non-Contact Forces
Notice that some forces need contact between two objects (contact forces) while magnetic forces can act at a distance (non-contact forces)
Ages 7 to 8Concept - Magnetic Materials
Observe how magnets attract or repel each other and attract some materials and not others
Ages 7 to 8Concept - Magnetic Poles
Describe magnets as having two poles (north and south) and predict whether two magnets will attract or repel based on which poles face each other
Ages 7 to 9Concept
Starts at age 8 // 3 topics
Starting at age 8
Your child is investigating how forces affect movement — observing patterns in how objects move and conducting experiments to understand how balanced and unbalanced forces change an object's motion.
- Predicting Motion Patterns
Make observations and measurements of an object's motion to provide evidence that a pattern can be used to predict future motion
Ages 8 to 9Method - Drawing Force Diagrams
Draw and interpret force diagrams showing forces as labelled arrows — where the arrow's length represents the force's magnitude and its direction shows which…
Ages 8 to 12Representation - Balanced & Unbalanced Forces
Plan and conduct an investigation to provide evidence of the effects of balanced and unbalanced forces on the motion of an object
Ages 8 to 9Method
Starts at age 9 // 4 topics
Starting at age 9
Your child is learning about gravity and forces that resist motion like friction and air resistance, while discovering how simple machines like levers and pulleys can make tasks easier.
- Gravity & Falling Objects
Explain that unsupported objects fall towards the Earth because of the force of gravity acting between the Earth and the falling object
Ages 9 to 11Concept - Air Resistance & Friction
Identify the effects of air resistance, water resistance, and friction, and understand that these forces act between moving surfaces to oppose motion
Ages 9 to 10Concept - Levers, Pulleys & Gears
Recognise that some mechanisms including levers, pulleys, and gears allow a smaller force to have a greater effect
Ages 9 to 10Concept - Force & Motion Vocabulary
Use technical vocabulary for force and motion — balanced forces, unbalanced forces, resultant force, acceleration, deceleration, speed, moment, lever, fulcrum…
Ages 9 to 11Language
Starts at age 10 // 1 topic
Starting at age 10
- Reading Distance-Time Graphs
Read and plot distance-time graphs for moving objects; interpret the gradient (steepness) of a line as speed; identify stationary periods (horizontal sections)…
Ages 10 to 13Representation
Starts at age 11 // 5 topics
Starting at age 11
- Relative Motion
Explain relative motion — how the apparent speed and direction of an object depends on the observer's own motion — using everyday examples such as trains and…
Ages 11 to 12Concept - Speed & Distance-Time Graphs
Calculate average speed using the equation speed = distance ÷ time, represent journeys on distance-time graphs, and interpret gradient as speed and flat…
Ages 11 to 12Concept - Mass vs Weight
Distinguish between mass (amount of matter, measured in kg) and weight (gravitational force, measured in N), use the equation weight = mass × gravitational…
Ages 11 to 12Concept - Resultant Forces
Describe forces as vector quantities with both magnitude and direction, distinguish between balanced forces (zero resultant, no change in motion) and unbalanced…
Ages 11 to 12Concept - Magnetic Fields
Describe magnetic poles (north and south), explain attraction and repulsion between poles, describe magnetic field lines plotted using a compass, and explain…
Ages 11 to 12Concept
Starts at age 12 // 6 topics
Starting at age 12
- Electromagnets
Describe the magnetic effect of an electric current (a current-carrying wire produces a magnetic field), and investigate how the strength of an electromagnet…
Ages 12 to 13Concept - Investigating Forces
Plan and carry out investigations into forces, including measuring force with a newton meter, investigating Hooke's Law, and collecting and interpreting motion…
Ages 12 to 13Method - Newton's First & Second Laws
State and apply Newton's First Law (an object stays at rest or constant velocity unless acted on by a resultant force) and Second Law (force = mass ×…
Ages 12 to 13Concept - Newton's Third Law
State and apply Newton's Third Law: every force has an equal and opposite reaction force acting on a different object, distinguishing action-reaction pairs from…
Ages 12 to 13Concept - Moments, Pressure & Hooke's Law
Calculate the turning effect (moment = force × perpendicular distance), explain how pressure is transmitted equally in liquids (Pascal's principle) and the…
Ages 12 to 14Concept - Deformation & Fluid Pressure
Explain forces associated with deforming objects (elastic and inelastic deformation), thermal expansion and contraction of materials, and how fluid pressure…
Ages 12 to 13Concept
Starts at age 13 // 1 topic
Starting at age 13
- Motors & the Motor Effect
Explain the motor effect as the force on a current-carrying conductor in a magnetic field, and describe how this principle is used in electric motors and…
Ages 13 to 14Concept