This lesson is designed for the NEW AQA Physics GCSE, particularly the ‘Forces in Balance’ SoW.
 
For more lessons designed to meet specification points for the NEW AQA Trilogy specifications for Biology, Chemistry and Physics please see my shop: https://www.tes.com/teaching-resources/shop/SWiftScience
 
The lesson begins with a recap of prior knowledge, students are asked to ‘Think > Pair < Share’ their ideas about what a parallelogram is, and what a resultant force is. After a short discussion, the next to slides answers these two questions which should set the children up for today’s lesson.
 
Next, students are shown a diagram of two tugboats pulling along a ship. It demonstrates that the tension forces from each cable has a combined effect of pulling the ship forwards, which is the resultant force. This introduces the concept of a parallelogram of forces which is used to find the resultant of two forces which do not act along the same line.
 
Students will now watch a video which will outline the steps involved with drawing a scale diagram of a parallelogram of forces, using a worked example. Students will watch the first two examples, and then the video will be paused so that students can have a go at completing the third example on their own. The video can be resumed for the students to assess their work. At this point in the lesson, you might want to use a fourth example on the white board to reiterate some of the steps, if many students didn’t quite understand it through watching the video.
 
Next, students will be given a worksheet to practise their ability to draw scale diagrams of parallelogram of forces. To help them to complete this task, there is a simplified step-by-step guide which will be on the PowerPoint slide, as well a more detailed set of instructions which can be handed out to students for additional help. Once complete, this task can self-assessed using the mark scheme provided.
 
The next activity is an investigation which demonstrates how to make a model zip wire, students can follow the method provided to complete this experiment. This includes instructions to plot results onto a graph, which enables students to discuss the effect of the height difference on the rest position of the weight hanger.
 
Lastly, students will complete a set of exam-style questions on this topic. This can be self-assessed using the mark scheme provided.
The plenary task requires students to complete three facts, two key words and one question about the lesson they have completed.
 
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