Grade by Grade
C. Matter and Energy · Forces Causing Movement

Forces in Our Daily Lives

C2.4 A3.1 A3.3 A2.2About 35 minutes
Learning goals
  • I can identify ways forces are used in my daily life at home, at school, at play and in my community.
  • I can explain how people use forces in their jobs and in sports.
  • I can describe how First Nations and Inuit technologies use forces, like friction, in clever ways.
  • I can describe how new technologies, like robots, use forces.

Words to know

daily life
The things you do every day.
technology
Tools, machines and ways of doing things that people design to solve problems.
qamutik
A sled with long runners, made and used by Inuit to travel over snow and ice. More than one are called qamutiit.
runners
The long, narrow strips under a sled that slide on the snow.
snowshoes
Wide frames worn on boots that help you walk on deep snow without sinking.
sensor
A part of a machine or robot that notices things, like a bump or a push.

Forces from morning to night

You use forces all day long, even when you don't notice. Think about a winter school day:

  • You push off your covers and pull open the curtains.
  • You twist the tap and squeeze the toothpaste.
  • You pull up your snow pants zipper and push your feet into your boots.
  • You walk to the bus. Every step, your boot pushes back on the ground and friction stops it from slipping, so you move forward.
  • At recess, gravity pulls you down the slide, and you push a friend on the swing.
  • At home, you pull open the fridge. Many fridge doors have a magnetic strip inside the rubber seal that pulls the door shut tight.
A snowy street of houses where a person shovels a driveway and a small child in a snowsuit pulls a red sled along the sidewalk.
On a winter day, forces are everywhere: the shovel pushes snow, the child pulls the sled, and friction keeps their boots from slipping. AI-generated image
morningtwist the tapwalk to the busfriction grips bootsrecessgravity on the slideafter schoolpull the fridge openpull
Forces from morning to night: a twist, friction, gravity and a pull. How many more can you spot in your day?
PlaceHow forces are used
KitchenRolling pin squeezes dough flat; spoon stirs (push); jar lid twists open
Getting aroundBike pedals are pushed; brakes use friction; boots grip with friction
PlaygroundGravity pulls you down the slide; you push off to start a swing
SportsHockey stick hits the puck; a curling broom sweeps the ice so the stone slides farther
Community helpersA snowplow pushes snow; a tow truck pulls a stuck car; a crane lifts beams
SafetyBrakes stop the school bus; sand on icy steps adds friction
Forces in daily life

Forces in First Nations and Inuit technologies

First Nations, Métis and Inuit peoples have long designed technologies that use forces cleverly, using materials from the land. Many are still made and used today.

  • The qamutik (Inuit sled): a qamutik is a long sled with two runners, pulled over snow and ice by people or by teams of sled dogs. Inuit sled builders have long put a thin coat of ice on the runners. A smooth ice surface means less friction, so the sled slides more easily and the dogs don't have to pull as hard.
  • Snowshoes: many First Nations made snowshoes with wooden frames and laced webbing. Snowshoes spread your weight over a big area, so you don't push down into the deep snow and sink.
  • Lacrosse: lacrosse was first played by First Nations peoples, including the Haudenosaunee, long before Canada existed. Players use a stick with a net to catch, carry and throw the ball. Today lacrosse is Canada's national summer sport.
pullsledsnow
A sled is pulled with a rope. Its runners slide on the snow. Smooth runners make less friction, so the sled is easier to pull.

Learning respectfully

These technologies were designed by skilled people who understood forces and the land very well. When you learn about them, name the people and the Nation who made them. Books by First Nations, Métis and Inuit authors, and Indigenous cultural centres, are great places to learn more.

Forces and new technologies

New technologies use forces too:

  • A robot vacuum pushes itself around the floor. When its bumper is pushed by a wall or a chair leg, a sensor notices the push, and the code tells it to change direction.
  • Some newer cars have sensors that notice when the car ahead is too close, and they put on the brakes by themselves.
  • Robot arms in factories lift, push and twist parts to build things like cars.

These technologies can help people and keep them safe, but they need careful coding and testing so they work properly.

Worked example

Let's find the forces in a hockey game

Name four forces used in a hockey game and say what each one does.

  1. The player's skates push back on the ice to move forward.
  2. The stick hits (pushes) the puck to start it moving toward the net.
  3. Friction between the puck and the ice slowly slows it down. The ice is smooth, so there is not much friction, and the puck goes far.
  4. The goalie's pad pushes on the puck and stops it, or changes its direction.

Skates pushing, the stick hitting, friction slowing the puck, and the goalie stopping it. Forces are everywhere in sports!

Just for fun

What is a robot vacuum's favourite dance?

The bump and turn! Bump into a chair, change direction, repeat.

Hands-on activity

Force diary

You need: paper and a pencil.

  1. Make a chart with four columns: Time, What I did, Push or pull?, Kind of force (for example: twist, lift, friction, gravity, magnetism).
  2. For one afternoon or evening, write down at least 10 times you used a force or saw one in action.
  3. Circle the ones where a force helped you do something.
  4. Choose one community helper (a snowplow driver, a firefighter, a farmer, a builder). Talk with a grown-up: how do they use forces in their job?
  5. Share: tell a grown-up about your three favourite examples using science words.

What to look for: a mix of pushes and pulls; some contact forces (friction, pushing) and at least one non-contact force (gravity, a fridge magnet).

Your turn

1

Name three forces you used before school today.

2

How does friction help you walk?

3

How does a snowplow use force?

4

Why did Inuit sled builders put a coat of ice on the runners of a qamutik?

5

How do snowshoes help you walk on deep snow?

6

Which sport was first played by First Nations peoples and is now Canada's national summer sport?

7

How does a robot vacuum know to turn when it bumps into a chair?

More practice: warm-up

1

Is pulling open a fridge a push or a pull?

2

Which force pulls you down a slide?

3

What do bike brakes use to slow you down?

4

What helps hold many fridge doors shut?

5

Name a community helper who uses a pulling force.

More practice: on your own

1

Name one way forces are used in the kitchen and one way they are used on the playground.

2

A curler sweeps the ice in front of the stone. What do the sweepers want the stone to do? Which force are they changing?

3

Describe the forces when you play lacrosse.

4

A qamutik and a toboggan both slide on snow. Why is it easier to pull a sled on icy snow than on bare grass?

5

Give one way a new technology uses a force, and one way it helps people.

Challenge

1

Why might a qamutik with smooth, iced runners be better for a long trip than one with rough runners? Think about the dogs or people pulling it.

2

Snowshoes and skis are both wide and long. Explain how they help with walking on snow in two different ways.

3

Think of a job in your community. Describe at least three different forces that a worker uses and what each one does.

Check your understanding

Quiz

1.

How does friction help you walk?

2.

A snowplow clearing a road is an example of...

3.

Why put a thin coat of ice on qamutik runners?

4.

Snowshoes help you because they...

5.

Which sport was first played by First Nations peoples?

6.

A robot vacuum bumps a chair and turns. What noticed the push?

For parents and teachers

Big idea: Forces are part of everything we do (C2.4). This lesson connects forces to home, school, sport, jobs and community (A3.1), to technologies made by First Nations and Inuit peoples (A3.3: contributions from various communities), and to emerging technologies like robots and self-braking cars (A2.2).

How to help: Keep the force diary going for a day. On walks, point out forces in the community: a crane, a snowplow, a tow truck. If you can, visit a local museum or Indigenous cultural centre, or read books by Indigenous authors about sleds, snowshoes and lacrosse.

Common difficulties:

  • Thinking forces are only in science experiments. The diary shows they are everywhere.
  • Missing friction as helpful. Walking, holding a pencil and braking all depend on friction.
  • Talking about Indigenous technologies only in the past. Point out that qamutiit, snowshoes and lacrosse are still made and used today.

Safety: if you try snowshoeing or tobogganing, choose a safe hill without trees or roads at the bottom, and wear a helmet for sledding.