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Science lesson plan · 5th grade (Year 6 in England) · 60 minutes

Air resistance and water resistance

Forces and motion

CCSS NGSS.MS-PS2-2England: KS2 Y5 Forces

Objective and success criteria

Students will: Air resistance and water resistance.

  • I can answer questions on today's skill on my own, without help.
  • I can explain each step and say why it works.
  • I can check my answer and spot a mistake.

Before and after

Needs first: Friction; Gravity

Leads to: Newton's laws of motion

Materials: Force meters, Toy cars and ramps, Mini whiteboards, A diagram or short video clip of the idea, Printed student sheet (below).

Warm-up · 6 min

  • Quick retrieval from earlier learning (Friction; Gravity). Students answer on mini whiteboards.
  • Show answers together and note who needs support in the main task.
  1. People in Australia do not fall off the Earth. Why? (Gravity pulls everyone towards the centre of the Earth / Australia has no gravity / They hold on tightly / They wear heavy shoes) → Gravity pulls everyone towards the centre of the EarthPrompt: "Down" means towards the centre of the Earth, wherever you are.
  2. On which surface would you slide furthest in your socks? (a polished wooden floor / a grassy field / a gravel path / a thick carpet) → a polished wooden floorPrompt: Which surface is smoothest?
  3. Who is famous for describing gravity after watching things fall? (Charles Darwin / Thomas Edison / Isaac Newton / Marie Curie) → Isaac NewtonPrompt: A story says an apple fell near him.

Hook · 6 min

  • Drop a sheet of paper and a scrunched-up sheet together and ask why one falls faster.
  • Share the objective: Air resistance and water resistance. Read the success criteria together.

I do: model it · 12 min

  • Work through the example out loud, saying why you do each step, not just what you do.
  • Example: Why are fish and boats streamlined (smooth and pointed)?
  • Step 1: Streamlining reduces water resistance, so they move faster using less energy.
  • Step 2: So the answer is: to reduce water resistance
  • Answer: to reduce water resistance
  • Pause after each step and ask a student to say what comes next.

We do: guided practice · 12 min

  • Do these together. Students try each step on whiteboards before you reveal it.
  • Use the hints as prompts rather than giving the answer.
  1. Why are fish and boats streamlined (smooth and pointed)? (to reduce water resistance / to increase water resistance / to float higher / to look nice) → to reduce water resistancePrompt: A streamlined shape lets water flow past easily.
  2. Which is the best shape for a fast racing car? (tall and square / covered in flags / low and streamlined / flat and wide like a sheet) → low and streamlinedPrompt: The car should slip through the air.

You do: independent practice · 17 min

  • Students work on the student sheet. Circulate and check the first two answers of every student early.
  • Students who finish: write a question of their own for a partner, with the answer.

The 8 questions are on the student sheet below, with answers in the key.

Exit ticket · 7 min

  • Two questions on their own. Sort answers into got it / nearly / not yet to plan the next lesson.
  1. Air and water resistance: which statement is NOT true? (Air resistance is a type of friction. / Streamlined shapes reduce air and water resistance. / Air resistance pulls falling objects downwards. / A parachute with a bigger area falls more slowly.) → Air resistance pulls falling objects downwards.Prompt: Which way does air resistance act on a falling object?
  2. Cyclists crouch low over their handlebars in races. Why? (to increase friction with the road / to make the bike heavier / to reduce air resistance / to see the road better) → to reduce air resistancePrompt: Air pushes against the front of a moving body.

Watch out for

  • Everyday meanings of words getting in the way of the science meaning: define key words explicitly.
  • Remembering facts without the reason: ask "why?" and "what is the evidence?"

Support and stretch

Support

  • Review first: Friction.
  • Use concrete materials: force meters.
  • Give the first step of each question, or a partly worked example to finish.
  • Pair with a confident partner for the guided practice.

Stretch

  • Move on to: Newton's laws of motion.
  • Explain a common mistake in writing and how to fix it.
  • Write a word problem that uses today's skill, then solve a partner's.

Homework and more practice

Free online practice with hints and printable worksheets for this skill: eurekami.com/science/grade-5.

Free lesson plan from eurekami.com/lesson-plan-builder

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Air resistance and water resistance

Name

Date

Score/ 8

  1. Question 1

    Cyclists crouch low over their handlebars in races. Why?

    • A. to make the bike heavier
    • B. to see the road better
    • C. to reduce air resistance
    • D. to increase friction with the road

  2. Question 2

    A skydiver falls at a steady top speed (terminal velocity). What is true about the forces?

    • A. Weight and air resistance are balanced
    • B. Air resistance is bigger than weight
    • C. There is no weight
    • D. There is no air resistance

  3. Question 3

    Air and water resistance: which statement is NOT true?

    • A. Air resistance gets smaller as you go faster.
    • B. A parachute with a bigger area falls more slowly.
    • C. Air resistance is a type of friction.
    • D. Air resistance acts against the direction of motion.

  4. Question 4

    Why is it harder to walk through water than through air?

    • A. Water has no particles
    • B. Gravity is stronger in water
    • C. Water resistance is much bigger than air resistance
    • D. Air pushes you forward

  5. Question 5

    Why are fish and boats streamlined (smooth and pointed)?

    • A. to increase water resistance
    • B. to look nice
    • C. to float higher
    • D. to reduce water resistance

  6. Question 6

    Which is the best shape for a fast racing car?

    • A. tall and square
    • B. flat and wide like a sheet
    • C. low and streamlined
    • D. covered in flags

  7. Question 7

    Why does a parachute slow a skydiver down?

    • A. Its large surface creates a lot of air resistance
    • B. It is full of helium
    • C. It makes the skydiver lighter
    • D. It turns off gravity

  8. Question 8

    Which falls slowest: a flat sheet of paper or the same paper screwed into a ball?

    • A. the ball of paper
    • B. they always land together
    • C. the flat sheet
    • D. neither falls

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Answer key: Air resistance and water resistance

  1. 1. C. to reduce air resistance

  2. 2. A. Weight and air resistance are balanced

  3. 3. A. Air resistance gets smaller as you go faster.

  4. 4. C. Water resistance is much bigger than air resistance

  5. 5. D. to reduce water resistance

  6. 6. C. low and streamlined

  7. 7. A. Its large surface creates a lot of air resistance

  8. 8. C. the flat sheet