Push, Pull and What Makes Things Move
- Physics
- Ages 6–8 · Grades 1–2
- Hands-on experiment
What you’ll find out
- A force is a push or a pull.
- Things only change how they are moving when something pushes or pulls them.
- A bigger push makes a bigger change.
No sign-up and no real names. In the lesson you check your understanding as you read, run the experiment yourself, and practise until it sticks.
A force is a push or a pull
You push a door open and pull a drawer out. Both are forces, because a force is a push or a pull. Kicking a ball is a push. A magnet picking up a pin is a pull.
Nothing changes on its own
A ball sitting on grass stays there — something has to push it. A rolling ball keeps going until something slows it: the grass, a wall, your hand.
Bigger push, bigger change
Tap a ball gently and it moves a little. Kick it hard and it flies. The bigger the push, the bigger the change. How heavy the thing is matters too.
Curriculum links: NGSS K-PS2-1 · NGSS 3-PS2-1