Force and Extension Physics Required Practical Workbook with ClassAdapt Science Simulations

A 20-page printable workbook that takes pupils through the GCSE Physics force and extension required practical one small step at a time. It’s built for pupils who need more structure: short sentences, one instruction per line, tick-box methods and fill-in-the-box calculations.

What’s inside

Hook (p3): Why do bungee crews weigh you before you jump? Pupils find the answer by doing the practical.
The pointer game (p4): Pupils predict where the spring’s pointer will stop for everyday objects, from an apple to a bottle of water, then check on the simulation. Once the spring passes its limit of proportionality, the simple “4 cm per 100 g” rule stops working.
Stiff or Stretchy card game (pp5–6): 16 cut-out cards, from a Slinky (1 N/m) to an Achilles tendon (about 200 000 N/m). Print them double-sided and the cards check themselves. Pupils learn that a bigger k means a stiffer spring.
Method (pp7–8): A 7-step tick-box method for the simulation, plus a labelled diagram of the real lab set-up with safety notes.
Results table (p9): Mass, weight, length and extension, with a worked example of extension = length − original length.
Class data (p10): Ready-made data for classes with no computers or equipment. It includes a deliberate anomaly and readings past the limit of proportionality.
Work it out (p11): A guided calculation from W = mg to k = F ÷ e, with unit conversion to N/m.
Graph and gradient (pp12–13): Pupils plot force against extension, ring the anomaly, mark the limit of proportionality and find k from the gradient.
One odd result (p14): Pupils spot a length recorded as an extension, then find a mean that leaves it out.
Conclusion and evaluation (p15): Supported with word banks.
Four exam-style questions (pp16–17): 12 marks in total, each with a sentence starter.
Self-assessment checklist (p18) and a full teacher answer key (p19) with mark schemes.

Free with this workbook: lifetime access to the ClassAdapt interactive simulation of the Forces and extension practical, which you open by scanning a QR code. Pupils can run the practical on any device, and the simulation checks every reading they enter. Its Adapt panel changes colours, text size and reading support, and includes a “Read the scale for me” option so pupils who struggle with small scale markings can still complete the graph.

Ideal for: All learners including those with SEND and lower-attaining pupils, catch-up and intervention groups, home learning, cover lessons and revision. It also works for classes that can’t run the real practical.

Written by a qualified physics teacher, with input from a current GCSE examiner.