Resource #V101051

Précis

Allows students who visit Isle of Wight Steam Railway to engage with the scientific aspects within this environment

Contextual Summary

Students can explore pushing and pulling aspects of the locomotive and how the carriages are moved around, the effects of pulling and pushing levers in the signal box, as well as their own physical pulling and pushing processing when entering and leaving the train during their visit.

They can also expand their understanding of how and why things change direction, as well as aspects of friction and gravity at the railway.

Curriculum Relevance

Science → Physics → Forces

Implementation

This task can be introduced to students before their visit to Isle of Wight Steam Railway; it would be particularly useful if they have done some basic / refresher work on pulling and pushing forces.

When on site at the railway, students can then complete the questions on the sheet as they move around the venue. This will focus students? attention on the key areas for learning. Alternatively, this resource works well as a follow-up task as the teacher deems appropriate.

Key Skills Practised

• Exploring the movement of familiar things
• Identifying how locomotives / trains use forces to gain traction / friction
• Understanding that both pushes and pulls are examples of forces and that opposing forces exist
• Recognising that when things speed up, slow down or change direction, there is a cause, and how traction and friction contribute to this

Learning Opportunities

Pre-Visit

Students could cover the basics of forces and motion, particularly the pushing, pulling, speed, traction, friction and change of movement aspects, to allow them to engage with the resource at Isle of Wight Steam Railway

On Site

Completion of Science Upper KS2 Physics / Forces at Isle of Wight Steam Railway resource linked to this document

Post-Visit

Follow-up tasks could include: Class discussion of all the examples of forces they discovered at Isle of Wight Steam Railway; Completion of labelled diagrams, PowerPoint slides, or animations showing these examples; Finding other examples of where water becomes steam in the everyday world

Learning Outcomes

Students will be able to demonstrate an understanding of how familiar things (locomotives and trains) move and the key forces that are apparent at Isle of Wight Steam Railway. Students will be able to understand that trains go faster, slow down, change direction, and the effects friction and traction have on achieving this. They will be able to understand that both pushes and pulls are examples of forces.