7Ka(3) Ideas about forces

A Greek philosopher (thinker) called Aristotle (374–322 BCE) was one of the
first people to think in a scientific way about forces. One of his ideas was that
everything had a natural place.
Aristotle thought that everything was made up of different combinations of four
‘elements’: earth, air, fire and water. Each element had its own natural place, and
this could explain why things floated or fell.

Stones are part of the Earth, so they

naturally move downwards until they
meet the Earth. Water’s natural place is
just above the Earth, and air is naturally
7 above the water or Earth. This is why
bubbles in water move upwards.
K
a

1 You can see flames rising up from a bonfire. Suggest where Aristotle would have said the
‘natural place’ was for fire.
2 According to Aristotle:
a why does a drop of water fall through the air, but not through the ground
b why does a stone sink if you drop it into water?
3 Wood floats on water. Which of the four ‘elements’ do you think Aristotle thought wood was
made from? Explain your answer.
4 According to modern scientists:
a why does a stone fall if you drop it
b what keeps a block of wood floating on water?

I CAN... • recall that theories change with time.

Exploring Science edition 454 © Pearson Education Limited 2008

Unit11.indd 454 22/2/08 16:25:49