Year 9 · Science · beta

Hidden forces

This unit explores forces, deformation, Hooke’s Law, moments, and work done. It covers pressure in liquids, atmospheric pressure, upthrust, and equilibrium, as well as simple machines and force-extension relationships, highlighting how forces affect motion, friction, and object deformation.

This is an attributed Oak National Academy lesson sequence, not a completed or academically approved DASKEREL course. Supporting transcripts may depend on video, images, practical equipment or teacher explanation. Follow each lesson’s supervision guidance. For religious education and RSHE, follow the school’s syllabus, policy and safeguarding procedures.

Prior knowledge

  • Forces are pushes or pulls.
  • Gravity is a force that pulls objects towards the Earth.
  • The bigger the force, the greater the change.
  • Forces are measure in newtons (N).
  • Force arrows show the direction of a force.
  • The length of a force arrow shows the size of a force.
  • Force arrows are best labelled as the force acting on (object A) by (object b).
  • When forces are balanced there is no resultant force.

Source curriculum references

  • Simple machines give bigger force but at the expense of smaller movement (and vice versa): product of force and displacement unchanged
  • Moment as the turning effect of a force
  • Forces: associated with deforming objects; stretching and squashing – springs; with rubbing and friction between surfaces, with pushing things out of the way; resistance to motion of air and water
  • Forces measured in newtons, measurements of stretch or compression as force is changed
  • Force-extension linear relation; Hooke’s Law as a special case
  • Work done and energy changes on deformation
  • Atmospheric pressure, decreases with increase of height as weight of air above decreases with height
  • Pressure in liquids, increasing with depth; upthrust effects, floating and sinking
  • Pressure measured by ratio of force over area – acting normal to any surface
  • Opposing forces and equilibrium: weight held by stretched spring or supported on a compressed surface

Oak source metadata. DASKEREL has not independently verified school-level coverage.

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