Science and Technology

Grade 3: Energy and Control: Forces and Movement	Achievement Level
Overall Expectations	1	2	3	4
•demonstrate an understanding of how movement is caused by forces and by energy that is stored and then released;
•investigate how different forces affect the operation of everyday devices, and design and construct devices that use a form of energy to create controlled movement;
•identify objects, devices, and systems in everyday life that are affected by forces and movement and explain in what ways they are useful to us.
Specific Expectations
Understanding Basic Concepts
•identify force as a push or pull by one body on another;
•investigate the ways in which different forces (e.g., magnetism, static electricity, muscular force, gravitational force) can change the speed or direction of a moving object;
•investigate the effect of magnets and electrically charged objects on the motion of different materials (e.g., iron filings will be moved by a magnet, whereas grains of sugar will not);
•identify, through observation, different forms of energy and suggest how they might be used to provide power to devices and to create movement (e.g., the release of energy from a tightly wound rubber band or spring would create movement in a wind-up toy);
•distinguish between kinds of motion and indicate whether the motion is caused indirectly (e.g., by gravity, static electricity, magnets) or directly (e.g., by applied force);
•investigate the effects of directional forces (e.g., left push for left movement) and how unbalanced forces can cause visible motion in objects that are capable of movement (e.g., an object pushed over a smooth floor).
Developing Skills of Inquiry, Design, and Communication
•ask questions about and identify needs and problems related to the behaviour of different forces in their immediate environment, and explore possible answers and solutions (e.g., identify everyday situations that produce static electricity and describe ways of removing static electricity from clothes; compare the strength of two magnets in holding layers of paper on a refrigerator door, or in picking up paper clips);
•plan investigations to answer some of these questions or solve some of these problems, and explain the steps involved;
•use appropriate vocabulary in describing their investigations, explorations, and observations (e.g., use terms such as push, pull, load, distance, speed when describing the effect of forces on an object);
•record relevant observations, findings, and measurements, using written language, drawings, charts, and graphs (e.g., track a toy boat moving on water at various speeds, record the distances travelled, and present their findings on a chart);
•communicate the procedures and results of investigations for specific purposes and to specific audiences, using drawings, demonstrations, simple media works, and oral and written descriptions (e.g., give a demonstration showing how a device has been constructed and how it performs; make a drawing showing what alterations would be made to its design in the future; describe in writing the steps they used to build a device);
•design and construct a device that uses a specific form of energy in order to move (e.g., a paper airplane propelled by hand).
Relating Science and Technology to the World Outside the School
•describe the visible effects of forces acting on a variety of everyday objects (e.g., a toy car goes forward when pushed; a ball falls down when dropped);
•identify surfaces that affect the movement of objects by increasing or reducing friction (e.g., dry roads, icy roads);
•demonstrate how a magnet works and identify ways in which magnets are useful (e.g., as metal detectors, as a car wrecker’s hoist, as a power source for magnetic trains);
•recognize devices that are controlled automatically (e.g., timers, washing machines), at a distance (e.g., a remote-control toy), or by hand (e.g., the flushing mechanism on a toilet);
•identify parts of systems used in everyday life, and explain how the parts work together to perform a specific function (e.g., a subway system, a plant, a wind-up toy).
Student Name:

 Expectations: Copyright The Queen's Printer for Ontario, 1998.  Format: Copyright B.Phillips, 1998.