Newton's 2nd law (AQA GCSE FT)

This lesson describes Newton’s 2nd law of motion and explains how to calculate the resultant force to apply the F = ma equation. The PowerPoint and accompanying resources have been designed to cover points 5.1.4 and 5.4.2.2 of the AQA GCSE Physics and Combined Science specifications. This lesson has been specifically written for those students who will take the foundation tier.

The lesson begins with a description of resultant force, explaining how a single force can replace several forces acting in a straight line. Active modelling is used throughout to deepen student understanding before they are given the opportunity to check that understanding through a range of different exam-style questions, including multiple-choice which are prevalent on the FT paper. All answers to the questions are embedded into the PowerPoint to allow students to assess their progress.

The lesson moves from the calculation of the resultant force from a diagram or when given the mass and acceleration, to the calculation of either the mass or acceleration when given more information about the forces acting on the object.

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 4th lesson in a series of 15 lessons which have been planned to cover the main content of topic P5.