After researching about the different planets, we held a test to understand the orbit of the planets.

We altered the length of the string and span the ball around for 10 seconds whilst counting how many times it orbited us. The data showed that the further away the ball was, the longer it took to orbit due to the increased distance to travel.

This morning, we took a closer look at our Solar System. Mr C had fruit that represented the planets and we had to try and order it accordingly. Then, we went outside with LOTS of toilet paper and created the Solar System to scale. Mercury was 4 individual sheets from the Sun and Earth was just 10 sheets away from the Sun. Neptune was 206 toilet sheets away from the Sun!

We also watched Brian Cox explain why the planets travel in a disc motion and how having a large mass means a larger gravitational pull. Mr C tried explaining it with a parachute…

We also made pocket Solar Systems this afternoon to help us understand that the planets aren’t as ‘spaced’ out as we sometimes think…

We did so much today!

Today, we were all amazed that we could see the phases of the Moon by using a ping pong ball and a bright light! It helped us understand why the Moon appears to change shape during each month.

Here is an example of the models we made this afternoon in Year 5. Using card and split pins, we were able to show how the Sun, Earth and Moon orbit and rotate together.

We also acted how they moved outside in groups of 3.

Mr C gave us very little instructions but we were able to create these models and conquer the challenge!

During the morning, we found out about air resistance, gravity, thrust and friction. You can show how strong these forces are on objects or people by drawing force arrows.

We looked at different sporting equipment such as javelins, cycle helmets and even wind tunnels for cars.

To feel the air resistance, we tried to run holding a plastic lid. This increased the air resistance and made it harder to run. Here are a few of us feeling the force and busting the thrust!

Yesterday, we discovered how to measure the amount of force used to push or pull objects.

Newtons measure the amount of force required to move something. Newtons are named after a scientist, Isaac Newton, who discovered gravity and it’s effects.

We held a fair test to see how many Newtons it takes to pull objects. Using Newton meters, we pulled objects across the carpet and smooth tables. Our conclusion was that friction effects how much force is needed to move an object and that materials or surfaces can alter the amount of force needed.