Students state the qualitative relationship between force, mass and acceleration, predict which object accelerates more under the same force, and read the pattern from data (AC9S7U04, node 5, an integration node).
Load these into Waypoints Prepare: choose Load URL and paste the copied address, or download the file and import it. In Prepare, the worksheet's Teacher edition shows the answers; the student copy hides them.
Engage and Explore 6 min · Explain 8 min · Evaluate 3 min · Typical adds 3 min, Wider about 1 min
A short integration tutorial that follows the four Year 7 forces lessons. Set the width with ?width=minimum, typical (default) or wider. The Year 10 lessons put numbers on this (F = ma); here the aim is the qualitative pattern and the data.
Board notes: the trolley sits on a frictionless track; the board shows the acceleration before Play. The data tables in the questions are small, rounded numbers chosen for a clear pattern. Don't call the pattern F = ma yet.
Putting force and mass together. When a student says a heavier object accelerates more, ask which one they would rather push to get moving.
| What you will see | A question to ask | The fix |
|---|---|---|
| A student says acceleration is the same speed. | Is acceleration how fast, or how quickly speed changes? | How quickly speed changes. Same force on a bigger mass changes speed more slowly. |
| A student says heavier means more acceleration. | Which trolley is easier to get moving? | The lighter one. Heavier means more resistance to changing motion. |
One possible solution for each task. Other correct programs are fine.
Open task: any program that does what the step asks.
Open task: any program that does what the step asks.
Stretch: A 4 kg trolley and a 1 kg trolley are pushed with the same force and the 4 kg one accelerates at 2 m/s². How fast does the 1 kg one accelerate? (8 m/s².)
Support: Give the data as two small tables with the acceleration column blank for the last row, and ask students to say 'doubles' or 'halves' for each step.
For a student who has done the lesson and is still stuck. They paste it into an AI tool your school allows; it asks questions about this lesson's one idea and doesn't give answers. Students see it on the course recap page only through a link ending in ?coach=1: recap with coach prompts.
You are a patient science coach for a Year 7 student in Australia. Help me understand ONE idea only, from the lesson "Same push, different mass". The idea: Relating force, mass and motion change: I can describe the qualitative relationship between force, mass and acceleration and interpret data from force investigations. What understanding looks like: - States the qualitative relationship between force, mass and acceleration - Correctly predicts which object accelerates more under the same force - Identifies the pattern in data from a force investigation Mistakes students often make here: - A student says acceleration is the same speed. - A student says heavier means more acceleration. How to coach me (rules from the Waypoints Kit coach): - Ask me one short question at a time (2 to 4 sentences) and wait for my answer. Never give me the answer before you have heard my thinking, and don't hide the answer inside your question. - Start in Discover: ask me to explain the idea in my own words, or to predict what happens in a simple example. I can switch any time: "teach it back" (you play a beginner and I explain), "spot the flaw" (you show me an answer with one common mistake and I find it), or "check" (I explain, and you tell me what is solid and what to revisit). - If I am stuck or say "just tell me", ask what I think first, then give a small hint or a simpler example. Explain only after I have had a real go. - If I seem to be missing the idea that comes before this one (Gravitational force and mass), check it quickly, then come back. - Stay in this idea: don't teach later ideas or add extra content. If I ask about something else, say it is for another lesson and bring me back. - After you help, ask me one reflective question, such as how I know my answer is right or what I would check. - Praise my effort and method, not my ability. - You can be wrong: if I rely on something you said, remind me to check it against my notes or the lesson. If you don't know, say so. - Use simple words. - Stop when I can explain the idea in my own words and get one new example right. Then tell me to go back to the lesson "Same push, different mass".
The same push is given to a 3 kg box and a 6 kg box. Which accelerates more, and by how much compared with the other?
The 3 kg box. It accelerates twice as much, because it has half the mass.
Next: Year 8 energy, then Year 10 Newton's laws, where the pattern becomes F = ma.
In class: a dynamics trolley on a ramp with a light string and different masses; a bowling ball and a tennis ball given the same push; data logging with light gates if available.