MS-PS2-2
The standard
Plan an investigation to provide evidence that the change in an object's motion depends on the sum of the forces on the object and the mass of the object.
Next Generation Science Standards
What this standard means
Students need to plan a fair test that shows how force and mass affect motion. They should identify the object, the forces acting on it, what they will change, what they will measure, and what they will keep the same. They should use units and focus on straight-line motion.
Mastery looks like a clear investigation plan with one changed variable, useful data, and a claim tied to net force and mass. Students often confuse force with motion, forget friction, change two variables at once, or say “heavier objects move slower” without evidence.
Ways to teach it
- Use toy cars, washers, string, and a pulley to test how added pulling force changes a car’s speed over one meter.
- Ask students to write: How can two teams pulling on a rope create no change in motion?
- Give a sample experiment plan and have students circle the independent variable, dependent variable, controls, and missing units.
- Connect to pushing an empty shopping cart versus a full cart, then ask which variable changed and what stayed the same.
Plan a lesson for MS-PS2-2
Generate a complete lesson plan aligned to this standard, with objectives, activities, and materials. Free, no account needed.
Related standards
- K-PS2-1
Plan and conduct an investigation to compare the effects of different strengths or different directions of pushes and pulls on the motion of an object.
- 3-PS2-1
Plan and conduct an investigation to provide evidence of the effects of balanced and unbalanced forces on the motion of an object.
- HS-PS1-3
Plan and conduct an investigation to gather evidence to compare the structure of substances at the bulk scale to infer the strength of electrical forces between...
- MS-PS2-5
Conduct an investigation and evaluate the experimental design to provide evidence that fields exist between objects exerting forces on each other even though th...