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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 wear heavy shoes / They hold on tightly) → 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 grassy field / a thick carpet / a polished wooden floor / a gravel path) → a polished wooden floorPrompt: Which surface is smoothest?
  3. Who is famous for describing gravity after watching things fall? (Marie Curie / Charles Darwin / Isaac Newton / Thomas Edison) → 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 look nice / to float higher) → to reduce water resistancePrompt: A streamlined shape lets water flow past easily.
  2. Why does air resistance increase as a cyclist goes faster? (The bike gets bigger / The air gets heavier / Gravity gets stronger / The cyclist hits more air particles each second) → The cyclist hits more air particles each secondPrompt: Think about air particles in the cyclist's path.

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. Which is the best shape for a fast racing car? (tall and square / flat and wide like a sheet / low and streamlined / covered in flags) → low and streamlinedPrompt: The car should slip through the air.
  2. Air and water resistance: which statement is NOT true? (A parachute with a bigger area falls more slowly. / Air resistance pulls falling objects downwards. / Air resistance is a type of friction. / Streamlined shapes reduce air and water resistance.) → Air resistance pulls falling objects downwards.Prompt: Which way does air resistance act on a falling object?

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

    Which is the best shape for a fast racing car?

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

  2. Question 2

    Air and water resistance: which statement is NOT true?

    • A. A parachute with a bigger area falls more slowly.
    • B. Streamlined shapes reduce air and water resistance.
    • C. Air resistance is a type of friction.
    • D. Air resistance gets smaller as you go faster.

  3. Question 3

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

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

  4. Question 4

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

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

  5. Question 5

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

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

  6. Question 6

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

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

  7. Question 7

    Cyclists crouch low over their handlebars in races. Why?

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

  8. Question 8

    Why does air resistance increase as a cyclist goes faster?

    • A. The air gets heavier
    • B. Gravity gets stronger
    • C. The bike gets bigger
    • D. The cyclist hits more air particles each second

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Answer key: Air resistance and water resistance

  1. 1. B. low and streamlined

  2. 2. D. Air resistance gets smaller as you go faster.

  3. 3. C. the flat sheet

  4. 4. D. Weight and air resistance are balanced

  5. 5. C. to reduce water resistance

  6. 6. D. Water resistance is much bigger than air resistance

  7. 7. A. to reduce air resistance

  8. 8. D. The cyclist hits more air particles each second