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Science and Technology K–6 · Years 1–2

Changing direction: a side push on a rolling ball

Working Scientifically only (NSW 2017); Forces can change the way objects move (NSW 2024); Science understanding, Physical sciences (ACARA v9)

PracticalLow risk

The idea

A moving object keeps its direction until a push from the side changes it, and the new direction depends on the strength of that push.

What you need

  • A tennis ball; a 2 m by 2 m floor area with a chalk or tape grid of 20 cm squares
  • A short ramp to release the ball along one grid line every time
  • A card to flick the ball from the side at a marked square; a second ball for a rolling side push

How to do it

  1. Release the ball down the ramp along a grid line. Mark with a counter where it crosses the far edge. Repeat three times.
  2. Predict where the ball will cross the far edge after a gentle flick from the side.
  3. Release again and, as it passes the marked square, give a gentle flick from the side with the card. Mark where it crosses the edge.
  4. Repeat with a firmer flick.
  5. Roll the second ball into the first from the side instead of flicking. Mark both balls' new paths.
  6. Draw the paths on a copy of the grid with arrows.

What you should see

With no side push the ball crosses the far edge within a square or two of the same place every time. A gentle flick bends the path a little; a firmer flick bends it more, always away from the side the push came from. When the second ball hits from the side both balls change direction. The learner knows it worked when the drawn paths show the bend increasing with the strength of the flick.

What changes

What you change
strength of the side push (none, gentle, firm)
What you measure
where the ball crosses the far edge (squares from the straight line)
What you keep the same
  • same ramp release
  • flick at the same square
  • same ball

Common misconceptions

Each of these ideas is wrong, and the activity is a chance to test it.

  • A rolling ball turns by itself.
  • A side push stops the ball rather than turning it.

Safety card

Low riskLearners carry it out

Hazards

  • Balls rolling into others

Controls

  • One grid in use at a time

Note

No chemicals or heat. Record the activity on the school's risk assessment (Primary School RiskAssess, Ecosolve Australia, riskassess.com.au).

Curriculum references

The NSW syllabus outcomes and Australian Curriculum v9 codes this activity supports. They are references, not a verified or complete curriculum alignment.

  • Science and Technology K-6 Syllabus (2017), NESA. Current syllabus; NESA's timeline is 2026 plan and prepare, 2027 start teaching the 2024 syllabus. Code read from the official syllabus document on 2026-09-22.ST1-1WS-S
  • Science and Technology K-6 Syllabus (2024), NESA. Implementation from 2027, so this code describes the future syllabus. Code read from the outcomes page on 2026-09-22.ST1-SCI-01ST1-PQU-01
  • Australian Curriculum v9AC9S1U03AC9S1I01AC9S1I02AC9S1I03

Sources

The pages the author read to write this activity.

  1. www.scootle.edu.au/ec/search?accContentId=AC9S1U03
  2. www.nsw.gov.au/education-and-training/nesa/curriculum/science/science-and-technology-k-6-2017
  3. curriculum.nsw.edu.au/learning-areas/science/science-and-technology-k-6-2024/content/stage-1
  4. primaryconnections.org.au/teaching-sequences/year-1/forces-fun

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