WorksheetPremium

Wheel Test at the Neighborhood Cycle Workshop

Compare wheel tests on two workshop surfaces and use observations to explain balanced and unbalanced forces.

Grade 3ScienceInteractive · Printable

Aligned to3-PS2-1

Buy this worksheet: $1.50

Or unlock every Premium worksheet with Premium

PrintUnlock to print

Answer keyUnlock to see answers

Assign to classUnlock to assign with a class code

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, Circle the answer, Sorting, Short answer

About this worksheet

What students practice

Students use motion evidence to identify balanced and unbalanced forces.
Students explain how balanced and unbalanced forces affect an object's speed and motion.
Students plan a fair comparison of forces and surfaces.

How to use

Read the workshop notes together and model how to compare one test at a time. Then have students use the records as evidence for their answers.

Curriculum

NGSS standard covered

3-PS2-1

Investigate how balanced and unbalanced forces change, or do not change, an object's motion.

Preview

OwlSheets.com

Name Date

Wheel Test at the Neighborhood Cycle Workshop

Use test records to explain how forces affect a rolling wheel.

Read the wheel tests

Read the cycle workshop notes. Use the records to answer the questions.

Two Test Strips

At the Neighborhood Cycle Workshop, Jordan and Priya tested a small wheel cart before using it on a bike repair display. They used a smooth concrete strip and a rubber mat. They marked distances in centimeters after each one-second interval.

The students described forces as pushes or pulls acting along the strip. A force of 4 N to the east and a force of 4 N to the west are equal and opposite. The forces balance. A resting cart with those forces stayed at rest. A moving cart with those forces kept moving at the same speed in the same direction.

Here are the records from the first tests. In Trial A, the cart was at rest with 4 N east and 4 N west, and it stayed at rest. In Trial B, the cart was moving east with 3 N east and 3 N west. It traveled 20 cm in each of three one-second intervals. In Trial C, the cart was at rest with 5 N east and 2 N west. It traveled 8 cm, then 12 cm, then 16 cm east. In Trial D, the cart was moving east with 2 N east and 5 N west. It traveled 14 cm, then 9 cm, then 4 cm east.

The students then compared the surfaces. For Trials F and G, the cart started moving east at the same speed. The students used the same 4 N east push and 2 N west force. Trial F was on smooth concrete, and Trial G was on the rubber mat. The cart in F traveled 10 cm, 14 cm, and 18 cm. The cart in G traveled 8 cm, 6 cm, and 4 cm. The students changed the surface and kept the starting speed and listed forces the same.

Which trial shows a cart that stayed at rest while forces acted on it?