A cartoon man flips pancakes in a kitchen while flying horizontally, showing what would happen if breakfast defied gravity. A happy brown dog jumps on the counter, and a floating child holds a cookie and a glass of milk, smiling playfully.

‘What would happen…?’ Primary Resource

Explore some fascinating scientific scenarios…

This primary resource answers a series of hypothetical questions based on different areas of science. What would happen if Earth’s gravity disappeared? Or if its continents had never broken apart? What would happen if you had a time machine? Or an invisibility cloak…?

Fun and educational, this resource explores such curious, quirky scenarios from a scientific point of view – helping to expand children’s knowledge of concepts including gravity, space and the structure of the Earth.

Download the resource at the bottom of this page, together with a stimulus sheet featuring ideas for study group tasks and classroom activities!

N.B. The following information for mapping the resource documents to the school curriculum is specifically tailored to the English National Curriculum and Scottish Curriculum for Excellence. We are currently working to bring specifically tailored curriculum resource links for our other territories; including South Africa, Australia and New Zealand. If you have any queries about our upcoming curriculum resource links, please email: schools@ngkids.co.uk

This ‘What would happen…?’ primary resource and activity assist with teaching the following Upper Key Stage 2 Science objectives from the National Curriculum:

Explain that unsupported objects fall towards the Earth because of the force of gravity acting between the Earth and the falling object.

This Science primary resource and activity assist with teaching the following Geography objectives from the National Curriculum:

The national curriculum for geography aims to ensure that all pupils:

Understand the processes that give rise to key physical and human geographical features of the world, how these are interdependent and how they bring about spatial variation and change over time.

National Curriculum Key Stage 1 Geography objectives:

Pupils should be taught to name and locate the world’s seven continents and five oceans.

National Curriculum Key Stage 2 Geography objectives:

Physical geography, including: climate zones, biomes and vegetation belts, rivers, mountains, volcanoes and earthquakes, and the water cycle.

This ‘What would happen…?’ primary resource assists with teaching the following Science Studies Early level objective from the Scottish Curriculum for Excellence:

I can talk about science stories to develop my understanding of science and the world around me.

Scottish Curriculum for Excellence Second level Sciences objectives:

I have collaborated in investigations to compare magnetic, electrostatic and gravitational forces and have explored their practical applications.

Scottish Curriculum for Excellence Second level Sciences objectives:

I have collaborated in investigations into the effects of gravity on objects and I can predict what might happen to their weight in different situations on Earth and in space.