Grade 8- Lesson 1 Activity

Balanced and Unbalanced Forces

Here are two statements about forces and balance:

1. Equal forces acting in opposite directions in the same line cancel each other and are
described as being ‘in balance’.
2. The movement of objects is changed if the forces acting on them are not ‘in
balance’.
[Reference: Working with Big Ideas of Science Education; Wynne Harlen, IPA, 2015]

Key points:
a. The arrow represents the force.
b. The size of the arrow represents the magnitude of the force.
c. The direction of the arrow is also the direction of the force.

Questions:

Q1. What does Equal forces mean?

Q2. What are some ways that the motion of objects might be changed?

Q3. The diagram shows four ways to represent forces using symbols. Which
situations represent balanced forces?

Q4. Assuming the square objects are the same size and mass (weight), what do
you predict would be the movement of the objects in each situation when the
forces represented were applied to the objects?