Drawing Force Diagrams · seed 1 · A4, ink-friendly. The answer key prints on its own page for grown-ups.

Drawing force diagrams

Science · Forces & Motion · ages 7-12
Name ______________________   Date ____________

  1. Two force arrows point the exact opposite way and are the same length. What do we call these forces?

    • Balanced
    • Unbalanced
    • Missing

  2. In a force diagram, an arrow's length shows...

    • The strength of the force
    • The length of the pushed object
    • The time spent pushing the object

  3. In a force diagram, the direction an arrow points shows which way the force acts.

    Circle one:   True   False

  4. A stationary book has gravity pulling down and the table pushing up with the exact same size. What happens to the book?

    • It stays still
    • It flies upward
    • It slides sideways

  5. The chart shows the only horizontal forces on a box: a 3-unit push left and a 7-unit push right. Which statement describes them?

    Push left3Push right7
    • Equal pushes cancel out
    • Unequal pushes leave a net force
    • No pushes act on this box at all

  6. A box has a 6-unit push arrow to the right and a 2-unit friction arrow to the left. What is the size of the resultant force?

    Answer: ______________

  7. Two kids push a cart: one pushes right with a force of 9, the other pushes left with a force of 9. A gust of wind then pushes right with a force of 2. What is the size of the resultant force now?

    Answer: ______________

  8. A box moves right and speeds up. Its only horizontal forces are push and friction. Ben draws the friction arrow left longer than the push arrow right. Does his diagram match?

    • Yes, because friction can point to the left
    • Yes, because arrow length never shows force size
    • No, because the rightward push must be larger
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Answer key

For grown-ups. Fold this page away before handing over the rest.

Drawing force diagrams W1-mt_k7GOtslF-x-s1

  1. Balanced · Same size, opposite ways: the forces cancel out, so they are balanced.
  2. The strength of the force · Using the same scale, a longer force arrow represents a stronger push or pull.
  3. True · Yes. The direction of the arrow always matches the direction of the push or pull.
  4. It stays still · Equal, opposite forces are balanced, so the book doesn't move at all.
  5. Unequal pushes leave a net force · The pushes oppose each other, but 7 is larger than 3. They leave a 4-unit resultant to the right, so they are unbalanced.
  6. 4 · Subtract the smaller arrow from the bigger one: 6 minus 2 equals 4, pointing right.
  7. 2 · The two 9s cancel out first, so only the wind's push of 2 is left over.
  8. No, because the rightward push must be larger · Speeding up while moving right needs a rightward resultant. With these two forces, the rightward push must be larger than friction.
Worksheet · LightMySky