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Mia is on the floor with her toy car. She gives it a push.
Which way does the car move?
به انگلیسی
Pushes & Pulls
Understand that pushes and pulls are forces that can change the speed or direction of an object's motion, and compare the effects of different strengths and directions
What a learner can do afterwards
- Describe a push and a pull as types of force that make objects move, speed up, slow down, or change direction
- Compare the effects of a gentle push versus a strong push on the same object
- Predict the direction an object will move based on the direction of the applied force
1 · Read
A push moves something away from you. A pull moves something toward you. Both are forces.
Try it together
Mia pushes her toy car softly. It rolls a little way. Then she pushes hard. It zooms far across the floor.
Good to know
Watch which way you push or pull. The object moves that same way.
Strength works for pulls too. A strong pull moves a toy farther than a gentle pull. And a push or a pull can start or stop motion. It can start a still toy rolling. It can stop a rolling ball.
A push or pull is a force that changes motion.
More to read
5.6 Common Forces
A force is a push or a pull. When you push a toy car it moves forward. When you pull a wagon it follows you. A harder push makes it go faster. A push to the side makes it turn. Forces can start motion speed it up slow it down or change its direction. Gravity is a pull from Earth that makes things fall. Friction is a force that slows things down when they rub on the ground. You feel forces every day when you kick a ball open a door or ride a bike.
4.5 Normal, Tension, and Other Examples of Forces
Forces have different names. Push and pull are the most basic. Weight is the pull of gravity. Friction slows sliding things. Tension pulls along a rope. The floor pushes up on your feet with a normal force. A spring pushes back when squashed. Some forces need touching like pushing a swing. Others work without touching like a magnet pulling a paperclip or gravity pulling an apple down.
Learn and try: Endotherms & ectotherms
Animals use pushes and pulls to move. A bird pushes air down with its wings to fly up. A fish pushes water back with its tail to swim forward. A frog pushes off the ground with its legs to jump. A horse pulls a cart. A monkey pulls itself up a branch. You push and pull too when you run jump throw or climb. Your muscles make the forces.
Key Terms
Force is a push or pull. It has a strength and a direction. Gravity pulls things down to the ground. Friction slows things down when they rub together. Air pushes against things moving through it.
Explore more
2 · Watch
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به انگلیسیبه انگلیسی
Try it yourself
Push from both sides and see who wins.
Take it off screen
Print a worksheetA4 with an answer key page for grown-ups. No screen, no internet.
Where it sits
Learn first
Nothing; this is a starting point.
Where this leads
Jobs that lean on this skill. Follow one to see everything it is built on.
Then practise
24 questions wait behind this lesson, each with its answer explained. Every answer feeds the sky: stars light as they are learned, and dim when it is time to come back.