The Plane Pull

About this resource

In 2009, one man pulled a 188-tonne military jet across an air base with a rope. How could one person move a jet that heavy — and why did it take more than a minute to go just 8.8 meters? Motion changes only when the forces don’t balance — and the more mass, the more force it takes. In this one-week, 6-level Forces, Mass & Motion unit for middle school science (NGSS MS-PS2-2), students investigate a real mystery, then use their evidence to crack the case.

The Plane Pull is part of Science Unlocked, a series of mystery-driven lesson sets. Every set opens with a real, surprising phenomenon, builds the science one level at a time, and ends with students solving the mystery in a claim-evidence-reasoning (CER) write-up.

Topics: Newton's 2nd law, Newton's laws of motion, force and motion, claim evidence reasoning (CER), science phenomenon, review games.

What's included

• Teacher Deck (102 slides, PowerPoint). Answers are highlighted on the slides. Speaker notes tell you what to say and do, what to watch for, and how to support students or push GT students further. Prep slides and answer keys are hidden, so they skip during a slideshow.
• Interactive Student Deck (63 slides, PowerPoint + PDF). Students type in boxes, drag cards and check marks, and rate their confidence. Assign one copy per student in Google Classroom or your LMS.
• Google Slides versions of both decks. Click a button in the Google Slides Links PDF to make your own copy in Google Drive.
• Teacher Guide (27-page PDF). The standard, a week at a glance, a materials list, misconceptions to watch for, a run-of-show for every level, answer keys and sources.
• Student Printable (19-page PDF + a low-ink greyscale copy). The same tasks on paper in 12 pt type, for students without devices, sub days, or anyone who learns better with a pencil. Slide numbers match the Student Deck.
• Self-grading digital activity. SCORM 2004 and SCORM 1.2 packages for an LMS that accepts SCORM uploads, a web package, and a single HTML file that opens in any browser. Notes, sorts, matches, tables and multiple-choice items grade themselves, and students get a copy-and-paste backup of their work. A 2-page teacher quick start is included.
• Two whole-class review games that open in any browser: a Jeopardy-style game (6 categories, 30 clues) and Trashketball, where teams answer on whiteboards and then shoot for points.
• Kahoot! and Blooket import files. 56 review questions, one file per level plus an all-levels file, with a printable answer key.
• Start Here guide, HTML & SCORM how-to guide and Terms of Use, so you know which file to open first.

The 6 levels (about one 45–50 minute class each)

1. Forces in Balance. Forces have size, direction, balanced vs. unbalanced. Key activities: Plane-pull mystery, Balanced or Unbalanced? sort.
2. Adding Up Forces. Net force, Newton’s first law (inertia), frames and units. Key activities: Coin trick, force diagram of the plane pull, net-force practice.
3. Force, Mass & Motion. Newton’s second law, qualitatively. Key activities: Three pairs, Push It data table, Rank the Change.
4. Plan the Pull. Plan an investigation: variables, tools, data, trials. Key activities: Change/Measure/Keep sort, group plan.
5. Pull Lab. Run the plan: pull force OR mass vs. time to go 1 m. Key activities: Cart-pull lab, class data, bar graphs.
6. Crack the Case. Stretch HS-PS2-1: F = m × a. Key activities: Speed-table analysis, SLAMMD, Stretch CER, final plane-pull CER.

Built for real classrooms

• Every level follows the same routine: "I can" targets with a confidence check, a warm-up, copy-it notes with a word bank, hands-on practice, a checkpoint students must pass to unlock the next step, and an exit ticket. A 10-item Mini Quiz wraps up the week.
• Level 1 opens with a Power-Up on the earlier-grade ideas this standard builds on (K-PS2-1, 3-PS2-1, 3-PS2-2).
• The last level includes a high school Stretch (HS-PS2-1) that every student tries and advanced students can take further.
• Hands-on lab (Pull Lab: The Investigation). Student materials list: Wheeled cart with a front hook; Sealed 1 kg sandbags, masking tape; Spring scale (0–10 N); Digital scale (kg); Tape lines 1 m apart, stopwatch; Goggles. Safety notes are on the slides and in the Teacher Guide.
• Support is built in: word banks, sentence starters and support notes on the slides, plus GT extensions.

Standards

• NGSS MS-PS2-2: 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. (Kentucky 7-PS2-2 uses the same wording.)
• SEP: Planning & Carrying Out Investigations: Plan an investigation individually and collaboratively, and in the design: identify independent and dependent variables and controls, what tools are needed to do the gathering, how measurements will be recorded, and how many data are needed to support a claim. · DCI: PS2.A · CCC: Stability & Change: Explanations of stability and change in natural or designed systems can be constructed by examining the changes over time and forces at different scales.
• Stretch: HS-PS2-1
• CCSS connections: 7.EE.B.3, 7.EE.B.4, MP.2, RST.6-8.3, WHST.6-8.7

Try the digital activity first

• Not sure the self-grading activity will work in your LMS? Download the FREE HTML & SCORM Sample and test it with your students before you buy.

Save with a bundle

• Forces, Gravity & Magnetism (5 sets)
• Middle School Physical Science + Engineering (23 sets)
• Science Unlocked Mega Bundle (all 89 sets)

Teach next

• The Bouncing Lander (MS-PS2-1)
• The Magnet Express (MS-PS2-3)
• The Ball-Pit Asteroid (MS-PS2-4)
• The Floating Frog (MS-PS2-5)

More from Mystery Lab Learning

• See every Science Unlocked set, and follow to hear when new ones are added, at Mystery Lab Learning.

Good to know

• The illustrations in this resource were created with AI image tools, and AI tools helped draft the lesson text. Every slide, answer key and lab step was then fact-checked against the sources listed in the Teacher Guide and proofread.
• Kahoot!, Blooket, Jeopardy!, Google Slides and PowerPoint are trademarks of their owners. This resource is not affiliated with or endorsed by them.
• License: one teacher, for use with their own students. Please buy an additional license for each colleague who uses it.