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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. Who is famous for describing gravity after watching things fall? (Thomas Edison / Charles Darwin / Isaac Newton / Marie Curie) → Isaac NewtonPrompt: A story says an apple fell near him.
  2. Why do football boots have studs? (to make a noise / to reduce friction / to make them lighter / to increase friction so players don't slip) → to increase friction so players don't slipPrompt: Grip is useful on wet grass.
  3. Which way does gravity pull objects near Earth? (up, towards the sky / down, towards the centre of the Earth / towards the Sun only / sideways) → down, towards the centre of the EarthPrompt: What happens when you drop a ball?

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. Cyclists crouch low over their handlebars in races. Why? (to increase friction with the road / to see the road better / to reduce air resistance / to make the bike heavier) → to reduce air resistancePrompt: Air pushes against the front of a moving body.
  2. 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.

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? (Streamlined shapes reduce air and water resistance. / Air resistance gets smaller as you go faster. / Air resistance is a type of friction. / A parachute with a bigger area falls more slowly.) → Air resistance gets smaller as you go faster.Prompt: Which way does air resistance act on a falling object?
  2. Why does air resistance increase as a cyclist goes faster? (The air gets heavier / The bike gets bigger / 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.

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

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

  2. Question 2

    Which is the best shape for a fast racing car?

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

  3. Question 3

    Air and water resistance: which statement is NOT true?

    • A. Air resistance acts against the direction of motion.
    • B. Water resistance only acts on boats.
    • C. A parachute with a bigger area falls more slowly.
    • D. Air resistance is a type of friction.

  4. Question 4

    Cyclists crouch low over their handlebars in races. Why?

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

  5. Question 5

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

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

  6. Question 6

    Why does a parachute slow a skydiver down?

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

  7. Question 7

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

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

  8. Question 8

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

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

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Answer key: Air resistance and water resistance

  1. 1. B. the flat sheet

  2. 2. B. low and streamlined

  3. 3. B. Water resistance only acts on boats.

  4. 4. B. to reduce air resistance

  5. 5. A. Water resistance is much bigger than air resistance

  6. 6. C. Its large surface creates a lot of air resistance

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

  8. 8. B. to reduce water resistance