---
title: "Contact & Non-Contact Forces"
description: "Notice that some forces need contact between two objects (contact forces) while magnetic forces can act at a distance (non-contact forces)"
canonical: https://lightmysky.com/learn/science/contact-and-non-contact-forces-mt_lcf8lx-LkZ
source: https://lightmysky.com/learn/science/contact-and-non-contact-forces-mt_lcf8lx-LkZ.md
retrieved: 2026-10-19
---

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# Contact & Non-Contact Forces

Notice that some forces need contact between two objects (contact forces) while magnetic forces can act at a distance (non-contact forces)

Subject: Science · Area: Forces & Motion · Ages 7 to 8
Page: https://lightmysky.com/learn/science/contact-and-non-contact-forces-mt_lcf8lx-LkZ

## Ready when they can

- Define contact forces as those needing objects to touch (e.g. push, pull, friction)
- Define non-contact forces as those acting at a distance (e.g. magnetism)
- Sort examples of forces into contact and non-contact categories

## Lesson: Touch it or not: contact and non-contact forces

Some forces need two things to touch. Your hands touch a door to push it and a wagon handle to pull it. Friction between shoes and a path needs touching too. These are contact forces.

**Example.** Think about kicking a ball. Your foot must touch the ball to send it flying, so a kick is a contact force.

Some forces work without any touching. A magnet can pull some metal things toward it across a small gap. Gravity also pulls a dropped ball down with nothing touching it. These are non-contact forces.

**Example.** Hold a magnet near a paperclip. The clip slides to the magnet before anything touches it.

*(drawing: Sort four forces into piles. A kick, a push, and friction all need touching, so three of them are contact forces. Magnetism pulls without touching, so it is the one non-contact force.)*

**Tip.** To sort a force, ask yourself one question: did the two things touch? If yes, it is a contact force. If they pulled or pushed without touching, it is a non-contact force.

**Recap.** Contact forces need touching, like a kick, while non-contact forces, like magnetism, can pull without ever touching.

## Practice

24 questions on this page, each with its working shown.

## Needs first

- [Friction & Surfaces](https://lightmysky.com/learn/science/friction-and-surfaces-mt_-p_xp4hMvh)
- [Drawing Force Diagrams](https://lightmysky.com/learn/science/drawing-force-diagrams-mt_k7GOtslF-x)

## Opens up

- [Magnetic Materials](https://lightmysky.com/learn/science/magnetic-materials-mt_9NvuqZKNiV)
- [Resultant Forces](https://lightmysky.com/learn/science/resultant-forces-mt_AiWlJfvC3O)
- [Gravity & Falling Objects](https://lightmysky.com/learn/science/gravity-and-falling-objects-mt_AvrQauS_zX)