Forces and Motion

1. Describe the forces acting in each scenario described below.


a) An apple falling to the ground.


b) A parachutist just after he has opened his 
parachute to slow himself down.


c) A penguin walking on ice.

2. Place a tick in each row of the table to show if the forces in each scenario are balanced or
unbalanced.

Scenario Balanced Unbalanced

A train travelling at a steady speed.

A ball bouncing off a wall.

A stationary football on the grass.

A horse jumping over a hedge.

A submarine descending at a steady speed.

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 Forces and Motion

3. Describe what happens to an object at rest when:

a) the forces remain balanced


b) the forces become unbalanced



4. Describe what will happen to an object moving at a constant speed when:

a) the forces remain balanced


b) the forces become unbalanced



5. Read the descriptions below and then draw force arrows onto each of the vehicles to show
the forces acting in the horizontal plane.

The car is approaching The van is decelerating. The cyclist is accelerating.

the queue at a constant
speed.

6. Describe how the forces acting on the cyclist will change as she moves away from the traffic
lights and reaches a constant speed. You should include the names of the forces.







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Forces and Motion Answers
1. Describe the forces acting in each scenario described below.

Gravity is pulling the apple towards

the Earth. Air resistance is acting in the
opposite direction to the motion of the
apple as it falls. The force of gravity is
greater than the force of air resistance,
so the apple accelerates towards the
Earth.
a) An apple falling to the ground.

Gravity is pulling the parachutist towards

the Earth. Air resistance in acting in the
opposite direction to the motion of the
parachutist as he falls. The force of air
resistance is greater than the force of
gravity, so the parachutist slows down.
b) A parachutist just after he has opened his
parachute to slow himself down.

Gravity is pulling the penguin towards the

Earth. The reaction force from the ice is
equal to the force of gravity, preventing
the penguin sinking into the ice. Friction
between the penguin’s feet and ice
prevents it from slipping.
c) A penguin walking on ice.

2. Place a tick in each row of the table to show if the forces in each scenario are balanced or
unbalanced.

Scenario Balanced Unbalanced

A train travelling at a steady speed.

A ball bouncing off a wall.

A stationary football on the grass.

A horse jumping over a hedge.

A submarine descending at a steady speed.

 Forces and Motion Answers

3. Describe what happens to an object at rest when:

a) the forces remain balanced
The object will remain at rest/not move.

b) the forces become unbalanced

The object will change speed and/or direction.

4. Describe what will happen to an object moving at a constant speed when:

a) the forces remain balanced
The object will continue to move at a constant speed, in the same direction.

b) the forces become unbalanced

The object will change speed and/or direction.

5. Read the descriptions below and then draw force arrows onto each of the vehicles to show
the forces acting in the horizontal plane.

The car is approaching The van is decelerating. The cyclist is accelerating.

the queue at a constant (The left arrow is larger (The right arrow is larger
speed. than the right arrow.) than the left arrow.)
(There are arrows
pointing in opposite
directions that are
equal in size.)

6. Describe how the forces acting on the cyclist will change as she moves away from the traffic
lights and reaches a constant speed. You should include the names of the forces.
Friction between the tyres and the road will increase and air resistance/drag acting on
the cyclist will increase until the size of the resistive forces is equal to the size of the
driving force. The forces will be balanced so the cyclist will continue to move forwards
at a steady speed.