Georgia S2P2.b
The Standard
Design a device to change the speed or direction of an object.
Georgia Standards of Excellence for Science · Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information to explain the effect of a force (a push or a pull) in the movement of an object (changes in speed and direction).
Teacher's field guide
What This Standard Means
What Students Need to Do
- Students plan and build a simple device that makes a moving object speed up, slow down, stop, or turn. They test it, record what happens, and improve the design.
What Mastery Looks Like
- A student can choose materials and build a device that produces the intended change in motion. They can demonstrate repeated tests and explain where a push or pull acts.
Common Misconceptions
- Students may think an object can turn without a force acting on it. They may confuse changing direction with changing speed. They may also expect one design to work equally well with every object.
How to Assess It
- Exit ticket: Draw a device made from cardboard, tape, and a paper cup that will make a rolling marble turn left. Label where the push occurs.
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
Build cardboard ramps and barriers, then test how their height, angle, and placement change a toy car’s speed or direction.
Ask students to compare two device designs and write which one changed motion more effectively, using test observations as evidence.
Play target lanes by adjusting craft-stick bumpers to guide a marble into numbered cups without touching the marble directly.
Examine pictures of speed bumps, guardrails, and curved ramps, then sketch how each structure changes a vehicle’s motion.
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Printable S2P2.b Worksheet
A ready-to-print activity worksheet aligned to S2P2.b, with an answer key for the teacher on its own page. No account needed.
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Related Standards
- S4P2.b
Design and construct a device to communicate across a distance using light and/or sound.
- S2P2
Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information to explain the effect of a force (a push or a pull) in the movement of an object (changes in speed and direction).
- SKP2.b
Construct an argument as to the best way to move an object based on its physical attributes.
- S2P2.c
Record and analyze data to decide if a design solution works as intended to change the speed or direction of an object with a force (a push or a pull).
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