Lesson 3: What is water resistance?
This Year 5 water resistance lesson explores how water resistance affects objects moving through water and how an object’s shape can increase or reduce this force. Pupils investigate different plasticine shapes to discover which move through water most easily, before using their results to explain how streamlined shapes can reduce water resistance.
The lesson directly supports the Year 5 Science National Curriculum requirement to identify the effects of air resistance, water resistance and friction that act between moving surfaces. Pupils build on their previous learning about gravity and air resistance and use force diagrams to identify the forces acting on moving objects.
What is water resistance?
Pupils learn that water resistance occurs when particles in water push against a moving object, slowing its movement. They revisit their knowledge of particles in solids, liquids and gases and use a physical modelling activity to compare how easily an object can move through each state of matter.
The lesson also addresses the difference between water resistance and buoyancy, helping pupils understand that water resistance acts against the movement of an object rather than simply pushing it upwards. Pupils consider examples including boats and underwater vehicles and explore why their shapes are designed to reduce resistance.
Which shape has the least water resistance?
Pupils use plasticine to investigate how shape affects the speed at which an object moves through water. They design and test different shapes in a tank or tall container of water, adapting their designs to find a shape that reaches the bottom quickly and therefore experiences less water resistance.
Pupils compare their designs, record their findings on the investigation worksheet and explain why some shapes move through the water more easily than others. They then sketch a successful design and use their understanding of forces and water resistance to explain why it worked.
What’s included in this Year 5 water resistance lesson?
- Launchable teaching slides for whole-class teaching
- Detailed lesson plan with National Curriculum coverage, teacher knowledge, vocabulary, misconceptions and assessment questions
- Investigation worksheet for recording findings
- Practical plasticine investigation exploring how shape affects water resistance
- Force diagram activity using arrows and labels to identify forces
- Physical modelling activity comparing resistance in solids, liquids and gases
- Opportunities to design, test and improve shapes to reduce water resistance
- Continuous provision ideas exploring boats, submarines, 3D shapes and friction
- Further investigation comparing movement through water and other liquids
- Challenge questions exploring shape, forces and fluid viscosity
✨ How to use the launchable slides
Launch the presentation directly in your browser and use it on your interactive whiteboard.
📝 Click Notes to see teacher guidance, answers and additional information where included.
⬅️ ➡️ To move through the presentation, click on the slides first, then use the left and right cursor arrow keys on your keyboard.
For technical and copyright reasons, these presentation slides are available to launch online rather than download.
Explore the full Year 5 Forces resources, or explore our Year 5 science scheme of work and resources.
This resource is part of the Mrs Mactivity Science Scheme of Work →
