Pushes and pulls
Physics · Early Years · The School
Two ways to move things
You PUSH a door shut and PULL it open. You push a swing away and pull a wagon along. Go round the room and say 'push' or 'pull' for ten things you do. Some are both — opening a drawer is a pull, closing it is a push.
Bigger push, further it goes
Roll a ball gently, then roll it harder. The harder push sends it further and faster. Try three sizes of push and put a marker where the ball stops each time. That row of markers is your first experiment result.
Things stop
A rolling ball does not roll forever — the floor slows it down. Roll the same ball on carpet and on a smooth floor and see which goes further. Something is working against the ball, and you can feel it if you rub your hands together.
Roll a ball along the floor with a gentle push and put a marker where it stops. Roll it again a bit harder — new marker, further away. Now as hard as you can — third marker, furthest of all. Line up the three markers and you have a result: bigger push, further roll. That row of markers is a real experiment, and it is the same one physicists do with much better equipment.