March 2026 Forces Investigations

Forces Investigations

It has been a high-energy week of scientific discovery for our Year 5 and 6 students! Our big question for the half term was: “What is a force, and how does it impact movement?” Throughout the unit, our young scientists have explored a variety of forces through hands-on experimentation. Highlights included: engineering custom pulley mechanisms, researching aerodynamics, and analysing the relationship between friction and surface texture.

Whilst investigating the impact of air resistance this week, we created planes. The students considered the aerodynamic characteristics of the plane they were designing and how the shape of the plane affected the speed and distance it could travel. They had lots of fun working in teams to conduct a hands-on investigation and they were quite surprised about which planes were actually most successful.

Later in the week, the pupils also investigated the impact of grip on their shoes and how this affected the level of friction created between their shoes and different surfaces. Again, this investigation involved lots of collaborative team work. The students learnt how to successfully use a newton meter and record and compare their findings. They were also able to compare their original predictions and hypothesis with the outcome of the investigation.