NEW AQA Physics (2016) - Forces & Elasticity

This lesson is designed for the NEW AQA Physics GCSE, particularly the ‘Motion’ SoW.

For more lessons designed to meet specification points for the NEW AQA Trilogy specifications for Biology, Chemistry and Physics please see my shop: https://www.tes.com/teaching-resources/shop/SWiftScience

The lesson begins with a questions for children to consider, think about three examples: a stretched rubber band, spring inside a pen and bungee cord. What happens when the stretching force is removed? This leads into a definition of elastic, and what is means if an object does not return to its original shape once its been stretched.

The first activity children will complete is an investigation completing ‘stretch tests’ . In groups, students will follow the method on the handout to investigate how easily a material or a spring stretches by hanging weights from it. They should make a note of their results in the table provided on the worksheet, and can then draw a graph of their results.

Next, students will watch a video explaining the principles of Hooke’s Law. Whilst watching the video, students should answer the questions on their worksheet, this task can then be self-assessed using the mark scheme once it is complete. Students are then asked to look back at their graph for their stretch test investigation and add a label to show when their steel spring reached it’s elastic limit.

Students are then shown an example calculation for calculating force applied, when given spring constant and total stretch. After this, they will be asked to complete three quick check questions to assess their understanding of this calculation. The task can be self or peer-assessed using the answers provided.

Lastly, there is a question sheet on the topic of ‘Forces & Elasticity’ to complete, students can write the answers in the their books and then use the mark scheme to assess their own work.

The plenary task is a summary worksheet to conclude their learning of today’s topic. This can be stuck into their books, and would serve as a useful revision tool for the future!

All resources are included. Thanks for looking, if you have any questions please let me know in the comments section and any feedback would be appreciated.