Motion

speeding up

It takes a force to make an object speed up.

slowing down

It takes a force to make an object slow down.

changing direction

It takes a force to make an object change direction

The Big Ideas

The three big ideas of motion are: objects can

  • travel at a steady speed (including stationary);

  • speed up or slow down or

  • change direction.


To make the most of this idea, explore these three situations with pupils using many different examples. Don’t forget that we consider not moving (stationary) as a steady speed.

The key problem with motion is being able to describe it accurately.

Key questions

Can you describe how this object is moving?

  • is it travelling at a steady speed?

  • speeding up,

  • slowing down or

  • changing direction?

EYFS and KS1

Experience and describe how things move, including steady speed, speeding up and slowing down and changing direction.

KS2

Compare how things move on different surfaces

Planets move in curved orbits

Pupils can use ratios to explain why objects moving at steady speeds travel twice as far when they have been travelling for twice as long.

Represent motion using arrows.

KS3

Pupils learn about speed and the quantitative relationship between average speed, distance and time (speed = distance / time)

Representing a journey on a distance-time graph

Understanding relative motion: trains and cars passing one another.