---
title: "Forces Vocabulary"
description: "Name and describe forces using precise vocabulary (force, push, pull, twist, stretch, squash, contact force, non-contact force, gravity, weight, friction, air resistance, upthrust), and distinguish be"
canonical: https://lightmysky.com/learn/science/forces-vocabulary-mt_GBY8enpzO0
source: https://lightmysky.com/learn/science/forces-vocabulary-mt_GBY8enpzO0.md
retrieved: 2026-10-19
---

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# Forces Vocabulary

Name and describe forces using precise vocabulary (force, push, pull, twist, stretch, squash, contact force, non-contact force, gravity, weight, friction, air resistance, upthrust), and distinguish between forces that require physical contact and forces that act at a distance

Subject: Science · Area: Forces & Motion · Ages 5 to 8
Page: https://lightmysky.com/learn/science/forces-vocabulary-mt_GBY8enpzO0

## Ready when they can

- Correctly name the force acting in at least five given scenarios (e.g. 'friction slows the sledge', 'gravity pulls the apple')
- Distinguish between contact forces (friction, upthrust) and non-contact forces (gravity, magnetism) using the correct terms
- Use 'weight' correctly as a force, distinct from 'mass', in descriptions

## Lesson: Naming forces: pushes and pulls

A force is a push or a pull. It can start something moving, stop it, or change its shape.

Some forces need touching. Friction rubs and slows things down. Upthrust is water pushing up on a boat. Air resistance is air pushing back on things that move through it. These are contact forces. Other forces work from far away, like gravity and magnets. These are non-contact forces.

*(drawing: Push this box. Friction rubs against it and slows it down.)*

**Example.** Mia drops a ball. Gravity pulls it down to the ground. She does not touch the ball, so gravity is a non-contact force.

Weight is a force. It is gravity pulling on you. Mass is how much stuff you are made of. They are not the same. On the Moon the pull is gentler, so you would weigh less, but your stuff would stay the same.

**Recap.** Force is a push or pull: contact forces touch, non-contact forces do not.

## Practice

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

## Opens up

- [Friction & Surfaces](https://lightmysky.com/learn/science/friction-and-surfaces-mt_-p_xp4hMvh)
- [Force & Motion Vocabulary](https://lightmysky.com/learn/science/force-and-motion-vocabulary-mt_F3ATPTCYm6)
- [Drawing Force Diagrams](https://lightmysky.com/learn/science/drawing-force-diagrams-mt_k7GOtslF-x)
- [Floating, Sinking and Upthrust](https://lightmysky.com/learn/science/floating-sinking-and-upthrust-mt_TJI95Ot-qQ)