Worksheet

Force Questions at the Corner Bike Shop

Use bike-shop investigation data to ask testable questions about electric and magnetic forces between objects that are not touching.

Grade 3ScienceInteractive · Printable

Aligned to3-PS2-3

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What’s included

Single worksheet
Auto-graded online
1 NGSS standard
Printable answer key
14 questions
Classroom-ready

Details

Format: Interactive · Printable
Grade: Grade 3
Subject: Science
Question types: Fill in the blank, Multiple choice, Matching, Sorting, Short answer

About this worksheet

What students practice

Students use observations to ask questions about electric and magnetic forces without contact.
Students identify changes to test when investigating distance, rubbing, materials, and magnet poles.
Students support a claim about a noncontact force with investigation evidence.

How to use

Read the investigation together and review how each display records five tries. Have students use the evidence to choose and write questions for further tests.

Curriculum

NGSS standard covered

3-PS2-3

Ask questions about cause and effect in electric and magnetic forces between objects that are not touching.

Preview

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Name Date

Force Questions at the Corner Bike Shop

Use test results to ask questions about pushes and pulls without touching.

A Magnet Near a Paper Clip

Read the investigation. Use the graph to answer questions about the magnet tests.

Science on a Busy Block

Buses pass, bells ring, and neighbors stop at the corner bike shop. During a neighborhood science afternoon, the shop hosts two small investigations inside, away from street breezes. An adult handles the magnets and keeps them away from mouths and electronic devices.

For the first investigation, the group places a steel paper clip on a smooth tray. They hold a bar magnet still near the clip, leaving a gap. They change only the starting gap. They keep the magnet, clip, tray, and facing end of the magnet the same. At each gap, they make five tries. Each try lasts five seconds. They count a success only if the clip begins moving toward the magnet before the two touch.

For the second investigation, the group uses balloons and tiny paper squares. Rubbing a balloon with a dry wool scarf can give it electric charge. The group changes the number of rubs. They record whether the paper starts moving toward the balloon while a gap remains. Both investigations record motion, not just whether objects eventually touch.

How many more tries were successful at 1 cm than at 3 cm? more tries

The group will repeat one starting gap. Based on the graph, which gap is most likely to make the clip move before contact?

A. 4 cm
B. 2 cm
C. 3 cm
D. 1 cm

Why does the group check whether the clip starts moving while a gap remains?

A. To find out how long the magnet stays warm.
B. To test whether a pull can act without contact.
C. To make every starting gap exactly the same.
D. To find out whether the clip changes material.

The group asks, “Would a stronger magnet move this clip from 4 cm away?” Which plan best tests that question?

A. Use the original magnet at 1 cm and a stronger magnet at 4 cm.
B. Use the original magnet with a clip and a stronger magnet with a coin.
C. Use each magnet at 4 cm with the same clip, tray, and facing pole.
D. Use each magnet at 4 cm, but put the clip on a different tray each time.

Sort the questions. Which can be answered using the graph, and which need a new test?

Were there more successful tries at 1 cm or at 3 cm?Would a wooden bead move toward this magnet?Did the clip move before contact in any 4 cm tries?Would turning the magnet around change the results?

Use the graph	Need a new test

A Balloon Near Paper

Use the test notes and results. Think about what the group changed and what it could test next.

The group holds each balloon still, 1 cm from a paper square, for five seconds. For each try, they use a fresh, dry balloon of the same kind and a fresh paper square of the same size. They use the same scarf. They make five tries for each rubbing amount.

Balloon Test Results
Rub count | Tries when paper moved toward the balloon before contact
0 rubs | 0 out of 5
10 rubs | 3 out of 5
20 rubs | 5 out of 5

Which question do these balloon tests help answer?

A. Does the number of rubs affect how often the paper moves?
B. Does the starting gap affect how often the paper moves?
C. Does the paper's size affect how often the paper moves?
D. Does the scarf's material affect how often the paper moves?

Which pattern is supported by these results?

A. More rubs went with fewer successful tries.
B. Changing the rub count made no difference.
C. More rubs went with more successful tries.
D. Only balloons with no rubs had successful tries.

After 10 rubs, in how many of the five tries did the paper move before contact? tries

Next, the group asks, “Does the starting gap affect whether paper moves toward a rubbed balloon?” Which plan tests only that change?

A. Use 10 rubs at 1 cm and 20 rubs at 2 cm.
B. Use small paper at 1 cm and large paper at 2 cm.
C. Use a wool scarf at 1 cm and a cotton cloth at 2 cm.
D. Use 20 rubs and the same paper at 1 cm and 2 cm.

10.

The group has a wool scarf and a cotton cloth. Write a question about how the rubbing material might affect the balloon's pull on paper without touching it. Name two things to keep the same.

Plan the Next Investigation

Use the new observations and the earlier results to choose useful questions and support an explanation.

The adult also tests two bar magnets. Their ends are called poles and are labeled north and south. One magnet can slide on a smooth tray. The adult holds the other magnet nearby without touching it. The starting gap is the same in both tests.
North facing north: the sliding magnet moves away.
North facing south: the sliding magnet moves closer.

11.

Which cause-and-effect question best matches the change made in these two magnet tests?

A. Does changing the gap change how the magnet moves?
B. Does changing the facing pole change how the magnet moves?
C. Does changing the tray change how the magnet moves?
D. Does changing the magnet's size change how the magnet moves?

12.

Match each investigation question to the one thing the group should change.

Does the starting gap affect whether the steel clip moves?
Does the object's material affect whether the magnet pulls it?
Does the facing pole affect whether two magnets move together or apart?

A. Which magnet end faces the other magnet
B. The distance between the objects
C. What the test object is made of

13.

A visitor says, “A magnet must touch a paper clip before it can pull the clip.” Do the graph results support that claim? Explain using a number and a starting gap from the graph.

14.

A visitor asks, “Could moving air, rather than the rubbed balloon, be making the paper move?” Which test would best help check this?