Science Forces & Motionusually ages 9–11

Force & Motion Vocabulary

Use technical vocabulary for force and motion — balanced forces, unbalanced forces, resultant force, acceleration, deceleration, speed, moment, lever, fulcrum, mechanical advantage — and apply these when explaining and predicting how forces affect the motion and position of objects

How to tell they’ve got it

Tick these off as you see them — no test required.

Distinguish between balanced and unbalanced forces and describe the effect of each on an object's motion
Use 'resultant force' correctly when describing the net effect of two or more forces acting on an object
Apply 'moment', 'lever', and 'fulcrum' correctly when describing how simple machines work

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Try this together

Can your child explain why a seesaw stays level when two people of different weights sit at different distances — using words like 'balanced forces' or 'moment'?

Where this sits on the map

Stuck here? Check the skills it builds on first. Confident? Here’s what it unlocks.

Builds on

Nothing on the map comes before this — it’s a starting point.

Force & Motion Vocabularythis skill · ages 9–11

Unlocks

Resultant Forcesages 11–12Describing balanced and unbalanced forces as vector quantities requires resultant force, balanced forces vocabulary

Levers, Pulleys & Gearsages 9–10Understanding levers, pulleys, and gears requires moment, lever, and fulcrum vocabulary

solid = must come firstdashed = helps

Curriculum alignment

Candidate matches to official curriculum codes — machine-suggested, unreviewed (v0.1).

Show candidate curriculum codes · 1 ACARA · 2 VIC

Australian Curriculum v9 candidate

AC9S4U03medium confidenceYear 4 · Science understanding

identify how forces can be exerted by one object on another and investigate the effect of frictional, gravitational and magnetic forces on the motion of objects

Victorian Curriculum 2.0 codes & levels only

VC2TDE4C01medium confidenceDesign and Technologies · Levels 3 and 4 · Technologies Contexts strand

VC2S4U10medium confidenceScience · Levels 3 and 4 · Science Understanding strand

These are candidate alignments generated by semantic matching — machine-suggested and unreviewed (v0.1), not official or verified mappings. For official curriculum content see australiancurriculum.edu.au, curriculum.nsw.edu.au and f10.vcaa.vic.edu.au. Don’t rely on them for registration or compliance purposes.

Nearby on the map

Air Resistance & Frictionages 9–10 Gravity & Falling Objectsages 9–11 Levers, Pulleys & Gearsages 9–10 Balanced & Unbalanced Forcesages 8–9

All Forces & Motion skills →