The pupils conducted an investigation to see how the force of friction is affected by the mass of an object. They pulled different masses along surfaces and recorded the force needed. They discovered that as the mass got heavier, so the force needed to pull it was more. This is because friction is dependent upon the weight acting between two surfaces. When the mass is more, the weight is more and therefore the friction will be more.
Pupils also learnt how to calculate the density of regular and irregular shaped objects. They enjoyed using a Eureka can to find out the density of a selection of stones. Finding out the volume of water displaced each time gave them the volume of the stone and they then used this (together with the stone’s mass), to calculate the density of the stone.
