Pupil video: Air and water resistance

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The science of resistance

This Kapow pupil video is part of the Kapow Science scheme of work. It is designed for pupils and introduces the concepts of air resistance and water resistance – forces that push against objects as they move through air or water. The video explains how these forces work in opposition to motion, using everyday examples such as cycling, swimming, and flying to show how resistance affects speed and movement.

Pupils discover how engineers and scientists study resistance in wind tunnels to design streamlined vehicles, and how nature has already perfected this in animals like flamingos, stingrays, and dolphins. The video shows how both air and water resistance can slow objects down or be used to aid movement, and highlights how streamlining plays a key role in efficient motion in both the natural and engineered world.

The video is designed to be shown to pupils as part of Science, key stage 2, Year 5, Forces and space: Unbalanced forces, Lesson 3: Water resistance

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