Worksheet: Forces (Year 5)
Name or group: ____ Date: ______
Curriculum (England, Year 5 Forces):
- unsupported objects fall towards the Earth because of gravity,
- air resistance, water resistance and friction,
- levers, pulleys and gears let a smaller force have a greater effect.
In SpaceWise: Grown-ups > Start a lesson > Year 5 Forces. Choose the mission "Jump on the Moon" or "The hammer and the feather", or a Science Lab experiment: "Hammer and feather", "Slide test", "Drop test in liquids" or "Levers, pulleys and gears".
Part 1: Gravity (mission "Jump on the Moon")
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Predict first. Will you jump higher on the Earth or on the Moon? __
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Jump on the Moon. Write the height the app shows. ______ m
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The pull of gravity at the surface:
| World | Gravity (m/s²) |
|---|---|
| Earth | 9.81 |
| Moon | 1.62 |
| Mars | 3.73 |
| Jupiter (at the cloud tops) | 23.12 |
On which world is the pull of gravity strongest? __
- About how many times stronger is gravity on the Earth than on the Moon?
[ ] about 2 times [ ] about 6 times [ ] about 20 times
Part 2: Air resistance (Science Lab "Hammer and feather")
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Predict first. On the Earth, which lands first: the hammer or the feather? __
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Predict first. On the Moon, which lands first? __
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Why is the answer different on the Moon? __________
Part 3: Friction (Science Lab "Slide test")
- The same box gets the same push on different floors. Write the floors in order, from the one where the box slides the furthest to the one where it stops quickest.
- Which force slows the box down? __
Part 4: Water resistance (Science Lab "Drop test in liquids")
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Does the ball fall faster through air or through water? __
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What changes the speed: the ball, or what it falls through? __
Part 5: Mechanisms (Science Lab "Levers, pulleys and gears")
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How can a small force lift a heavy rock box? __________
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The force you need gets smaller. What do you give up for that? __
Answers for the teacher
- On the Moon.
- The value the app shows. A jump on the Moon is about six times higher than the same jump on the Earth.
- Jupiter.
- About 6 times (9.81 ÷ 1.62 is about 6.1).
- The hammer. Air resistance slows the light, wide feather much more.
- They land together.
- The Moon has no air, so there is no air resistance. Gravity pulls both down in the same way.
- The order the app shows. Ask the group why the floors differ: rough or smooth, and how hard gravity presses the box down.
- Friction.
- Through air.
- What it falls through. Water pushes back more than air (water resistance).
- With a lever, a pulley or gears, a small force moving a long way lifts a heavy load a short way.
- Distance: you pull or turn further for the same lift.
Sources: NASA planetary fact sheets for the Earth, Moon, Mars and Jupiter (https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/factsheet/), checked 3 October 2026. National Curriculum in England: science programmes of study (GOV.UK).