Singapore is renowned for our educational system, but I don’t think this means that we have little room for improvement. I think one thing that parents have been conditioned to as a result of the educational arms race is that we tend to think of concepts and formulae in correlation to age. For instance, forces is a topic only introduced to sixth graders in the country - a few months before their Primary School Leaving Exam. Which is kinda absurd if you think about it because gravity acts on us all the time.

So, as an inquisitive lifelong learner, I have been seizing opportunities to expose the son to authentic scientific experiences. Take this gravity-powered car for instance. We recently attended Dan event and he got the chance to build it:

After building the car, the only thing to do is attach a small weight to it with a string and raise it. When the weight is released, gravity pulls it downward, thus causing the string to turn an axle. The axle will in turn turn the wheels to move the car forward.

After understanding the principle, this gave me the perfect opportunity to present him with the question below:

A) potential energy -> electrical energy -> kinetic + light energy

B) the scooter is moving against gravity