Young Explorers: Investigating Our World · 2nd Year

Active learning ideas

Measuring Forces

Active learning helps second-year pupils grasp abstract force concepts through hands-on comparisons of push and pull strengths. Measuring forces with real objects makes connections between force, mass, and motion clear in ways that diagrams alone cannot. Students remember these experiences because they directly link the size of a force to visible changes in motion.

• NCCA Curriculum Specifications
• NCCA: Primary - Working Scientifically
• NCCA: Primary - Energy and Forces

• 30–45 min
• Pairs → Whole Class
• 4 activities

Activity 01

• Experiential Learning
• 35 min · Small Groups

Fair Test: Toy Car Pulls

Provide toy cars, strings, and spring balances. Students predict and measure force to pull cars at constant speed over carpet and smooth floor. Record pulls in newtons or band stretches, then graph class data to compare surfaces.

Design a way to measure the force needed to pull a toy car.

Facilitation Tip

For the Toy Car Pulls fair test, remind students to keep the surface type and starting point the same for each trial to control variables.

What to look for

Provide students with a drawing of a toy car being pulled by an elastic band. Ask them to write two sentences explaining how they could measure the force of the elastic band and what might make the force stronger or weaker.

• Apply
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Self-Awareness
• Self-Management
• Social Awareness

Activity 02

• Experiential Learning
• 30 min · Pairs

Push Challenge: Box Weights

Set out light and heavy boxes. Pairs use elastic bands marked for stretch to measure push force needed for each box to move one metre. Discuss why heavier boxes require more force and test predictions with added weights.

Compare the force needed to push a light box versus a heavy box.

Facilitation Tip

In the Push Challenge, have students predict force measurements before pushing each box to build anticipation and focus their observations.

What to look for

Hold up two objects of different masses (e.g., an empty box and a full box). Ask students to predict which will require more force to push across the floor. Then, have them demonstrate pushing each and share their observations about the difference in force needed.

• Apply
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Self-Awareness
• Self-Management
• Social Awareness

Activity 03

• Experiential Learning
• 45 min · Whole Class

Whole Class Data Hunt

Distribute force measurement kits. Each group measures force for a shared task, like pulling a book bag. Collect results on a class chart, calculate averages, and identify patterns in force needs.

Explain why measuring forces helps us understand how things move.

Facilitation Tip

During the Whole Class Data Hunt, circulate and ask groups to explain why they grouped their results in particular ways.

What to look for

Pose the question: 'Why is it important for scientists and engineers to be able to measure forces accurately?' Facilitate a brief class discussion, guiding students to connect measurement to prediction, design, and understanding how the world works.

• Apply
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Self-Awareness
• Self-Management
• Social Awareness

Activity 04

• Experiential Learning
• 40 min · Pairs

Design Your Own Measurer

Challenge students to build force measurers from rubber bands, rulers, and cups. Test on pulling objects of different weights, calibrate against known forces, and peer-review designs for fairness.

Design a way to measure the force needed to pull a toy car.

Facilitation Tip

When students Design Your Own Measurer, provide limited materials first so designs stay simple and measurable.

What to look for

Provide students with a drawing of a toy car being pulled by an elastic band. Ask them to write two sentences explaining how they could measure the force of the elastic band and what might make the force stronger or weaker.

• Apply
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Self-Awareness
• Self-Management
• Social Awareness

A few notes on teaching this unit

Teachers approach this topic by starting with simple, repeatable actions students already understand, like pushing boxes or pulling toy cars. Avoid abstract definitions early; instead, let students experience the cause and effect of different forces. Research shows concrete comparisons reduce misconceptions about force size and object mass. Guide students to use measurement tools early to build confidence in quantifying forces before discussing units or formulas.

Successful learning looks like students using tools to record force measurements and explaining why heavier objects need stronger pushes or pulls to move. They should compare data across trials, recognise patterns in their results, and discuss how force relates to speed and distance. Group discussions should show they can connect their findings to the idea of fair testing and measurement accuracy.

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Watch Out for These Misconceptions

• During Fair Test: Toy Car Pulls, watch for students assuming the same elastic band will always pull the car the same distance regardless of car weight.

  Have students test the same elastic band on a light and a heavy car, then ask them to explain why the heavier car moves less. Ask, 'Where did the force go if the car didn’t move as far?' to guide them toward understanding inertia.

• During Push Challenge: Box Weights, watch for students believing their own strength can judge force more accurately than spring balances.

  Ask students to calibrate their spring balances using known weights before pushing boxes. Then, have them compare their own force judgments to the measured values and discuss which method feels more reliable.

• During Design Your Own Measurer, watch for students assuming pulling and pushing will always require the same force for the same object.

  Provide identical boxes and ask students to measure both pulling and pushing forces with their designed tools. Then, discuss why friction or direction might cause slight differences in the measurements.

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Methods used in this brief

• Experiential Learning