Force and Motion: Standards Addressed
The list of standards below were taken from the National Research Council's National
Science Science Education Standards, 1996.
Physical Science
CONTENT STANDARD B: As a result of their activities in grades 5-8, all students
should develop an understanding of MOTIONS AND FORCES
- The motion of an object can be described by its position, direction of motion, and
speed. That motion can be measured and represented on a graph.
- An object that is not being subjected to a force will continue to move at a constant
speed and in a straight line.
- If more than one force acts on an object along a straight line, then the forces
will reinforce or cancel one another, depending on their direction and magnitude.
Unbalanced forces will cause changes in the speed or direction of an object's motion.
Physical Science
CONTENT STANDARD B: As a result of their activities in grades 9-12, all students
should develop an understanding of MOTIONS AND FORCES
- Objects change their motion only when a net force is applied. Laws of motion are
used to calculate precisely the effects of forces on the motion of objects. The
magnitude of the change in motion can be calculated using the relationship F=ma,
which is independent of the nature of the force. Whenever one object exerts force
on another, a force equal in magnitude and opposite in direction is exerted on the
first object.
- Gravitation is a universal force that each mass exerts on any other mass. The strength
of the gravitational attractive force between two masses is proportional to the
masses and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them.
For more information contact shortcourses@nsta.org