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Investigate the Effects of Unbalanced Forces

In this worksheet, students will be helped to view forces in a different way, using arrows to describe their direction and relative strength. By following this system, students have a chance to broaden their understanding of how forces work.

'Investigate the Effects of Unbalanced Forces' worksheet

Key stage:  KS 3

Year:  Year 7 Science worksheets

Curriculum topic:   Physics: Motion and Forces

Curriculum subtopic:   Motion and Forces

Popular topics:   Physics worksheets

Difficulty level:  

Worksheet Overview

One way in which forces can be represented is by the use of labelled arrows. For example, look at this swimmer:

 

 Forces on swimmer

 

 As you can see, he propels himself through the water using his arms and legs, pushing the water out of the way, creating resistance to the forward motion in the form of friction.

 

These forces are represented by a thrust arrow as the swimmer pushes himself forward and then a friction arrow acting in the opposite direction, pushing against the swimmer.

 

Notice that the thrust arrow is bigger than the friction arrow, meaning that the swimmer must be speeding up as he is overcoming the water resistance acting against him. If the two arrows were the same size the forces would be equal, so he would be moving at a steady speed.

 

OK, let's use this idea in the questions in this activity!

 

girl thinking

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