Gravity, mass and weight (AQA GCSE FT)

This lesson describes weight as the force acting on an object due to gravity and challenges students to recognise the difference between mass and weight. The PowerPoint and accompanying resources have been designed to cover point 5.1.3 of the AQA GCSE Physics and Combined Science specifications, and are specifically written for those students who will take the foundation tier.

The lesson begins with a prior knowledge check, where the students must use their existing knowledge to reveal the key terms, mass and weight. The students will be introduced to the definition of mass and weight, and will learn that the latter is a force due to gravity.

The students are introduced to the equation linking weight, mass and gravitational field strength and a series of exam-style questions will challenge them to apply this equation. All answers are embedded into the PowerPoint to allow the students to assess their progress and understanding.

The lesson is full of key points and active modelling is used to support the students to understand how to tackle a concept. There is also a quiz competition to introduce a key value and to help to maintain engagement and motivation.

As described above, this lesson has been written for foundation tier students and is expected to be covered in a lesson ranging between 45 minutes and an hour. It is the 2nd lesson in a series of 15 lessons which have been planned to cover the main content of topic P5.