An introduction to the forces at work all around us, met first through observation and demonstration
This Year 8 unit introduces forces through direct observation before formalising them. Its centrepiece is a forces circus — a set of hands-on demonstration stations where students confront a puzzle at each one and have to explain it: a cup that will not fall, rings that refuse to touch, a ball held aloft on a jet of air, a boat that floats, a charged rod and cloth. From these starting puzzles the unit develops the language of gravity, friction, upthrust, air pressure and static electricity.
The unit gives students an early, tactile feel for what a force is and how forces interact, laying groundwork that the Year 9 Mechanics unit later makes quantitative.
The handover assessment for this unit targeted criterion A, knowing and understanding, testing students' grasp of the forces met through the circus and class work. Other criteria are confirmed against the department's task-specific clarifications.
This page is a brief honest summary; the unit's detailed scheme of work is still being built out.