Science / Year 7 / Science Understanding / Physical sciences

Curriculum content descriptions

Change to an object’s motion is caused by unbalanced forces, including Earth’s gravitational attraction, acting on the object (ACSSU117)

Elaborations
  • investigating the effects of applying different forces to familiar objects
  • investigating common situations where forces are balanced, such as stationary objects, and unbalanced, such as falling objects
  • investigating a simple machine such as lever or pulley system
  • exploring how gravity affects objects on the surface of Earth
  • considering how gravity keeps planets in orbit around the sun
General capabilities
  • Literacy Literacy
ScOT terms

Motion

Interactive

Gravity and orbits

This is an interactive teaching and learning resource that years 7 to 10 secondary students can use to simulate the orbits of the Earth, Moon and a space station while altering the physical quantities involved. Orbital pathways, velocity and force vectors can be displayed in either scale or cartoon views. The mass and velocity ...

Interactive

Energy skate park: basics

This is an interactive teaching and learning resource that years 7 to 10 secondary school students can use to simulate the motion of a skateboarder descending and ascending on a variety of tracks. Height, speed and energy conservation are visually displayed. The skater's mass and starting height, as well as the drag he ...

Interactive

Sites2See: Surf safety

A webpage about surfing safety, dangerous waves and rips, and the history and science of surfing. A 'For Kids' section provides games and quizzes for young swimmers and surfers.

Interactive

Plotting a Magnetic Field

Students use this resource consisting of seven slides with diagrams, written explanation and voice-over to understand how to plot the magnetic field around a bar magnet using a plotting compass. There is a two-question quiz and a summary slide.

Interactive

experiMENTALS: Magic rocking candle

This resource contains a materials and instruction list and brief explanation for students about the process of burning both ends of a balancing candle. This activity is most likely to be done as a teacher demonstration for safety and classroom management reasons, particularly at primary school level.

Interactive

experiMENTALS: Trumpet straw

This resource contains a materials and instruction list and brief explanation for students about the process of making a straw that can produce vibrations when blown through.

Interactive

experiMENTALS: Levitating balloon

This resource contains a materials and instruction list and brief explanation for students about the process of levitating a balloon.

Interactive

Calculating Moments

Students use this resource consisting of seven slides with diagrams, written explanation and voice-over to understand the principle of moments and its application to situations involving one pivot. There is a two-question quiz and a summary slide.

Interactive

Sites2See: Sustainable transport

A single web page resource developed with the NRMA containing links to sites and other resources about hybrid vehicles, low emission fuels and sustainable transport.

Interactive

experiMENTALS: Bouncing balls

This resource contains a materials and instruction list and brief explanation for students to observe what happens when two different sized balls are dropped independently or in vertical contact. The simple explanation relates to transfer of energy.

Interactive

Gravity and the Solar System

Students use this resource consisting of seven slides with diagrams, written explanation and voice-over to understand how the movement of planets around the sun is related to gravitational forces. There is a two-question quiz and a summary slide.

Interactive

National Science Week flight special

This resource contains lessons plans containing instructions and teachers' notes for fun experiments focusing on the science of flight. Try them in your classroom and watch Elliot and the Surfing Scientist tackle them on Roller-coaster. A wide ranges of activities with clear directions and illustrations based on a range ...

Interactive

experiMENTALS: ink chromatography

This resource contains a materials and instruction list and brief explanation for students about the process of separating ink mixtures using paper chromatography.

Interactive

Rotocopters

This resource contains lessons plans containing instructions and teachers' notes for a lesson that can be part of a unit on flight or used as a great motivating activity to foster positive attitudes. The clear and explicit instructions are a good example of a procedural text. The notes also provide a clear explanation of ...

Interactive

experiMENTALS: Gravity defying wheel

This resource contains a materials and instruction list and brief explanation for students about the process of demonstrating resistance to change in a spinning a bike wheel to observe the principles of a gyroscope.

Interactive

Gravity

Students use this resource consisting of four slides with diagrams, written explanation and voice-over to understand that gravity is a force of attraction which acts on Earth towards the centre of the planet, and that the size of the force of gravity depends on the mass of each object and the distance between them. There ...

Interactive

experiMENTALS: Keys on a shoelace

This resource contains a materials and instruction list and brief explanation for students to show that keys on a shoelace can do some unexpected things.

Text

Physics of video games lesson

In this lesson students build a simple Pong game in Scratch and consider the physics involved in the game play. They then apply their understanding of force and motion to design their own video game concept. The resource includes links to downloadable lesson plan, websites, videos, apps and an assessment rubric. The lesson ...

Interactive

NASA: Eyes Eclipse 2017

This interactive 3D simulation of the total eclipse of August 21st, 2017 enables users to navigate to different locations to watch a simulation of what the eclipse would look like from that area from start to finish. The simulation is available as a web and desktop applications suitable for most devices.

Interactive

Spacewalk game

This is an interactive resource that explores the International Space Station through a Station Spacewalk Game in which participants conduct virtual NASA repair work on the International Space Station. In the game, participants leave the airlock and complete tasks executed by astronauts to help power up the space station ...

Interactive

Kamay – looking up

This resource explores the navigation techniques used during the journey of the Endeavour and contrasts these with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander navigational and astronomical systems that have been in place for many thousands of years. This learning sequence contains activities suitable for Year 7 - Year 10 science ...

Interactive

My solar system

This is an interactive resource exploring the orbital motion of a system of planets. Using the orbital simulation, students can build their own system of planets and watch the gravitational ballet. They can set initial positions, velocities, and masses of 2, 3, or 4 bodies, and then see them orbit each other. This interactive ...

Interactive

Day and Night

Students use this resource consisting of five slides with diagrams, written explanation and voice-over to understand how the movement of the Earth causes day and night, the apparent daily movement of the Sun from east to west and the orbit of the Earth over one year. There is a two-question quiz and a summary slide.

Interactive

Satellites

Students use this resource consisting of eight slides with diagrams, written explanation and voice-over to understand that the moon is a natural satellite of the Earth and how satellites stay in orbit around the Earth. There is a two-question quiz and a summary slide.

Interactive

Solar System Quiz

This is a non-threatening ten question multiple choice quiz that gives students feedback on their understanding of our solar system that continues to reveal amazing facts and inspire some out-of-this-world fantasy. Excellent explanations given in the feedback. A useful resource to stimulate discussion or establish student ...

Interactive

Sites2See: Spreadsheets for science

A page with example resources, exemplars and advice to help integrate spread sheet use in teaching and learning for science. Includes suggestions for use, tutorials and information on research and benefits, plus links to a range of related resources, including a teacher guide to using Microsoft Excel in the classroom

Interactive

experiMENTALS: Straw propeller

This resource contains a materials and instruction list and brief explanation for students about the process of creating a propeller using two bendy straws and a pair of scissors. A simple demonstration of one of Newton's Laws.

Interactive

Year Length

Students use this resource consisting of three animated slides with diagrams, written explanation and voice-over to understand the length of a year. It could also be used to demonstrate day length and the duration of the moon's orbit. There is a two-question quiz and a summary slide.

Interactive

Catchment Detox

Students play the game and make decisions about the development of a catchment with competing economic and environmental demands. Students receive feedback on how sustainably their catchment has been managed.

Interactive

Uses of Satellites

Students use this resource consisting of five slides with diagrams, written explanation and voice-over to understand some uses of artificial satellites including geostationary satellites. Uses identified include telecommunications, weather forecasting and spying. There is a two-question quiz and a summary slide.

Interactive

Thermal comfort – sustainability action process (Years 7–10)

This thermal comfort learning resource will guide students through an extended school based investigation. Students will develop and implement a chosen sustainability action and then evaluate and reflect on their success and their learning.

Interactive

Indigenous weather knowledge

An interactive map of traditional weather and climate knowledge that has been developed and passed down through countless generations by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. The site provides descriptions of the sixteen seasonal calendars used by First Nations peoples across Australia.

Interactive

Wing loading

Wing loading is a measurement that relates the mass of an aircraft or bird to the total wing area. This resource provides an interactive for students to compare flight capabilities of planes with birds, matching those that are the most similar.

Interactive

It's a drag

Investigate the braking efficiency of cars and trucks. Test stopping distances under controlled conditions. Compare effects of vehicle type, tyres, road surface and weather conditions. Choose driving speed, then apply brakes and compare stopping distances. Answer questions about friction, tyres and driver fatigue. This ...

Interactive

Give me a brake

Investigate braking efficiency of cars and trucks by testing stopping distances under controlled conditions. Test effects of vehicle type, tyres, road surface and weather conditions. Choose driving speed, then apply brakes and compare stopping distances. Estimate distances from target markers. Answer questions about antilock ...

Interactive

Wild ride: get a grip

Investigate the role of friction in performance of bicycle tyres. Test how the type of tread affects grip and speed. Choose tyres best suited to track and weather conditions in a time trial. This learning object is one in a series of four objects.

Interactive

Earth rotation: night and day

Watch an animation of the Earth rotating in space showing day and night, the equinox where locations on Earth experience close to equal hours of daytime and night-time (12 hours) and views of the Earth from above the North and South Poles. Turn an animated model of the Earth to explore how rotation is related to night and ...

Interactive

Seasons

Control the motion of the Earth in its orbit around the Sun. Work out how the Earth’s orbit and the tilt of its axis determine seasons in the different hemispheres. Work out how the Earth’s orbit and the tilt of its axis determine day length in the different hemispheres. Examine the heating effect of the Sun. Compare seasons ...

Interactive

DIY Sun Science - iTunes app

Try some hands on investigations that relate to learning about the Sun. Follow step-by-step procedures, read through explanations to find out why things happened and also view related video clips. Free when reviewed on 12/5/2015.