99 Things Move-High

Things Move Written by Rhonda Lucas Donald

Introduction All around you, things move in many ways. Cars roll, birds fly, balls bounce, and children run. Some things seem to move on their own, while other things have to be moved. Some things move quickly, and some things move slowly. Some things move in a straight line, and others move in a circle. Many things change direction as they move.

You can see that things move in many different ways. Let's learn why things move. Let's also learn what makes them move in different ways.

At Rest or in Motion? Look at the two pictures. How are the cars in one picture different from the cars in the other picture? The cars sitting in the parking lot are at rest. The cars on the road are in motion. What makes some cars move while others stay at rest?

Objects can't move on their own. They stay at rest until a force moves them. That force can come from a living or a nonliving thing. The sled above moves when the child pulls on it. The child could also get behind the sled and push it. Pushing and pulling are two kinds of forces.

Before you can kick a ball to make it move, you need energy. You get energy from the food you eat. Making a force requires energy. It also takes a force to make a car move. So a car needs energy, too. But the person driving it does not have to push the car. The car has a motor that gets energy from the gas it burns. The motor uses this energy to make a force that turns the wheels. Then the car moves.