ScienceGrade 5ages 10–11
📘 A force can change motion
A force is a push or a pull that can change motion — but when nothing seems to be happening, that doesn't mean no forces are acting; often it means two forces are balanced, cancelling each other out.
Try this lesson freeNo card needed. The first lesson is free.
Download on the App StoreWhat your child learns
- A force is a push or a pull, and it can change motion.
- It can speed something up, slow it down, or change its direction.
- When you see no change, that does not mean there are no forces.
- It can mean two equal forces are cancelling each other out.
The mistake most kids make here
Thinking that if something is not moving, no forces act on it.
Try one question
A book lies on a table and does not move. Which forces act on it?
It has
- no forces at all
- gravity and the table's push
- only thoughts
Answer
gravity and the table's push — Yes. Two, equal and opposite.
How Maya teaches it
Your child tells Maya what they did in class. She teaches this topic at her desk, asks questions with tappable answers, and when the answer is wrong she explains why that answer was tempting instead of saying “try again”. She remembers what did not land and comes back to it.
Your child has it when they can: Which forces act on a book that is not moving?
How to help at home
"No movement means no force" is a reasonable guess if you've only seen forces described as things that make objects go. The fix is separating "a force is acting" from "the object is moving" — they aren't the same question.
Tonight, set a book on a table and ask your child what's happening to it. Then ask: is gravity still pulling down on the book, even though it isn't falling? What must be stopping it from falling?
If your child says "nothing is pushing or pulling it," point out that gravity never switches off. The table must be pushing back up on the book just as hard as gravity pulls down — that balance is why it stays still.
A good sign they've got it: they can name both forces acting on a still book — gravity pulling down, the table pushing up — and explain that the book stays still because those two forces are equal.
Questions parents ask
- Why does my child think a still object has no forces on it?
- Because forces are usually introduced as things that cause visible motion, so "nothing is moving" naturally suggests "nothing is acting" — even though that's not what actually determines whether forces are present.
- What forces act on a book resting on a table?
- Gravity pulls it down, and the table pushes back up on it with an equal and opposite force. Because these two forces balance exactly, the book stays still.
- Does "balanced forces" mean the same thing as "no forces"?
- No — balanced means two or more forces are present and equal in strength, so their effects cancel out. There is still force acting; it just isn't changing the object's motion.
- How does Maya teach this differently from a worksheet?
- Maya asks which forces act on a book that isn't moving, so a child has to identify both forces at work — gravity and the table's push — rather than default to "no forces" from stillness alone.
No card needed. The first lesson is free.
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Sources: Next Generation Science Standards