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Meet the BFFs: Four fundamental forces

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Meet the BFFs: Four fundamental forces

SUBJECTS:  Science

YEARS:  9–10


We all know something about gravity, but what about the other fundamental forces of physics?

Explore the properties of two familiar forces experienced in daily life, and of two less familiar ones.

How do they interact, and what keeps everything from falling apart?

This video was Kate Dent's entry into the 2013 Sleek Geeks Eureka Science Schools Prize competition.


Things to think about

  1. 1.Simply put, a force is the result of an interaction between two objects. We usually describe force in terms of a push or a pull. The force of gravity, for example, holds us on our planet. What are some other examples? Think about an atom and its smaller particles. What forces act to hold the various particles of matter together?
  2. 2.What does Kate say would happen if the four fundamental forces did not exist? Listen closely for the points where Kate discusses each of the forces (strong, weak, electromagnetic and gravitational) and note down the answer to these questions for each of them: Where does this force act? How strong is it relative to the other forces? Over what distance does it act? Why is the force important?
  3. 3.Devise a table, with illustrations, to summarise the properties of the four fundamental forces. Give examples of why each force is important. What is an analogy? In her presentation, Kate uses analogies to help with explanations. What analogies did she use and did they help your understanding? Why or why not?
  4. 4.Kate mentions an obstacle to not having a 'Theory of Everything'. What is it? Do you think it might ever be possible? Our knowledge of forces and particle physics has been built up over time. Investigate some of the main developments and the significant people involved. What are particle accelerators? Investigate how their development has advanced our understanding of particle physics.


Acknowledgements

This film was made by Kate Dent. It was highly commended in the 2013 University of Sydney Sleek Geeks Science Eureka Prize, Secondary.

The Australian Museum Eureka Prizes reward excellence in research & innovation, leadership & commercialisation, science communication & journalism and school science. More information is available here: australianmuseum.net.au/eureka


Production Date: 2013


Copyright

Metadata © Australian Broadcasting Corporation and Education Services Australia Ltd 2012 (except where otherwise indicated). Digital content © Australian Broadcasting Corporation (except where otherwise indicated). Video © Australian Broadcasting Corporation (except where otherwise indicated). All images copyright their respective owners. Text © Australian Broadcasting Corporation and Education Services Australia is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License (CC BY-SA 4.0).

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