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Mia is on the floor with her toy car. She gives it a push.
Which way does the car move?
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.
2 · Watch
3 · Play
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
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.