Primary 5 · Science · Interactions: Forces
Interactions: Forces questions for Primary 5 Science
10 questions to work through online, 2 of them written out the way the paper asks. Answer and you get the working straight away, then a score at the end. No sign-up, and you can retake it as often as you like.
- What a force does
- Friction
- When friction helps
- Mass and weight
- Gravity
- Reducing friction
- Identifying forces
- Naming a force
- Naming the instrument
- Applying the ideas
| Surface | Distance the block slid (cm) |
|---|---|
| polished wood | 62 |
| carpet | 14 |
| glass | 78 |
| sandpaper | 6 |
Answers and explanations for all 10 questions
Every answer with the reasoning behind it. Worth reading after you have tried the set — or on its own, if you are a parent marking it.
Which of these can a force NOT do to an object?
Answer: change what the object is made of
A force can start, stop, speed up, slow down, turn or reshape an object. What it cannot do is turn one material into another.
Based on the table above, which surface produced the most friction?
Answer: sandpaper
More friction means the block stops sooner. Sandpaper stopped it in 6 cm, the shortest distance of the four.
Which two of these show friction being useful rather than a nuisance?
Answer: A and B only
Friction is what lets a shoe grip and a brake work — without it you could neither walk nor stop. Wear and waste heat are the same force being unhelpful.
An astronaut takes a 2 kg rock from Earth to the Moon. What happens to it?
Answer: Its mass stays 2 kg but its weight becomes less.
Mass is how much matter is in the rock and travels with it. Weight is the pull of gravity on it, and the Moon pulls more weakly than the Earth.
A ball is dropped and falls to the ground. Which force pulls it down?
Answer: gravitational force
Every object is pulled towards the Earth by gravitational force. That is what makes a dropped ball fall.
In the set-ups above, the block reached the bottom faster in B. Why?
Answer: The oil reduced the friction between the block and the slide.
Oil keeps the two surfaces slightly apart so they rub less. Less friction means less to slow the block, so it arrives sooner.
A boy pulls a loaded wagon along a path. Which two forces act on the wagon as it moves?
Answer: A and B only
The boy's pull moves the wagon forward and friction acts against that motion. Those are the two forces along the path.
This force acts between two surfaces that rub together, and always acts against the movement. What is it called?
Answer: friction
The force between rubbing surfaces that opposes movement is friction.
Weight is measured with an instrument that has a hook and a spring inside, marked in newtons. What is that instrument called? A spring ______ .
Answer: balance
Weight is measured with a spring balance, marked in newtons.
Why do the soles of running shoes have deep grooves cut into them?
Answer: to increase the friction between the shoe and the ground
The grooves bite into the ground and push water aside, giving more grip. Running depends on the shoe not sliding when the foot pushes back.