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The Storm-Soaked Field Marker worksheet preview

Worksheet

The Storm-Soaked Field Marker

Use field-marker test records to explain balanced and unbalanced forces, changes in motion, and fair comparisons after a storm.

Grade 3ScienceInteractive · Printable

Aligned to3-PS2-1

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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, Circle the answer, Short answer

About this worksheet

What students practice

  • Students explain how balanced and unbalanced forces affect an object's motion.
  • Students use motion data as evidence for changes in speed.
  • Students identify fair comparisons in a force investigation.

How to use

Read the field notes together, then have students use the recorded forces, surfaces, and distances as evidence for each answer.

Curriculum

NGSS standard covered

3-PS2-1

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

Preview

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Name Date

The Storm-Soaked Field Marker

Trace what changed and how the marker moved.

Read the field notes

A storm soaked part of the community baseball field. Use the investigation notes to answer the questions.

Marker Tests After the Storm

After a strong storm, part of the baseball field was damp. The field crew tested a foam boundary marker before repainting the foul line. They pulled the marker with ropes in opposite directions and measured how far it traveled during each one-second interval. A force is a push or a pull. Forces in opposite directions can balance when they have equal strength.

The records show the marker's motion. In Test A, the marker started at rest on dry grass. The left pull was 5 units and the right pull was 5 units. It traveled 0 cm, 0 cm, and 0 cm during the first three seconds. In Test B, the marker was already moving right on dry grass. The left and right pulls were each 4 units. It traveled 6 cm during each of the three seconds.

In Test C, the marker started at rest on dry grass. The right pull was 7 units and the left pull was 3 units. It traveled 3 cm, 6 cm, and 9 cm during the first three seconds. In Test D, the marker was moving right. The left pull was 7 units and the right pull was 3 units. It traveled 9 cm, 6 cm, and 3 cm during the first three seconds.

The crew then compared surfaces. In Test F, the marker was moving right at the same starting speed on dry grass. The pulls were 4 units left and 4 units right. It traveled 5 cm in each second. In Test G, the starting speed and pulls were the same, but the marker moved on the storm-damp grass. The wet grass rubbed on it, and it traveled 3 cm, 2 cm, and 1 cm. The crew kept the marker and rope pulls the same so the surface would be the main change.

1.

How far did the marker travel during the second second of Test C?   cm

2.
What do Tests A and B together show about balanced pulls?
  • A. Balanced pulls make an object speed up from rest.
  • B. Balanced pulls make a moving object turn around.
  • C. Balanced pulls can leave an object still or moving steadily.
  • D. Balanced pulls act in one direction on an object.
3.
Which cause-and-effect statement best connects the storm to Test G?
  • A. The storm dried the grass, so the marker traveled farther.
  • B. The storm made the marker lighter, so its pulls balanced.
  • C. The storm changed the marker's color, so its speed changed.
  • D. The storm dampened the grass, so the marker's travel decreased each second.
4.
Circle the TWO records that show the marker's speed changed during the test.

Test A: 0 cm, 0 cm, 0 cmTest B: 6 cm, 6 cm, 6 cmTest C: 3 cm, 6 cm, 9 cmTest D: 9 cm, 6 cm, 3 cm

5.
Why did the marker slow down in Test D?
  • A. The marker was moving right, and both pulls acted right.
  • B. The pulls were equal, so the marker kept a steady speed.
  • C. The marker began at rest, so it could not move.
  • D. The stronger left pull opposed the marker's rightward motion.
6.

In Test C, how many more centimeters did the marker travel during the third second than during the first second?   cm

7.
What is the strongest evidence that the damp surface affected the marker's motion?
  • A. Tests F and G had the same pulls and starting speed but different distances.
  • B. Test G was done after the storm, so the marker had a new name.
  • C. Tests F and G used a marker made of foam.
  • D. The field crew measured the marker during one-second intervals.
8.
Which plan would make the next dry-grass and damp-grass comparison fairest?
  • A. Use a different marker and change both pulls on the damp grass.
  • B. Use the same marker and pulls, but start it at a different speed on each surface.
  • C. Use the same marker, starting speed, pulls, and time intervals on both surfaces.
  • D. Use the same surface and marker, then change the left pull each time.

Explain and predict

Use the test evidence to explain what happened next and make a prediction.

9.
Circle the TWO statements that are supported by Tests F and G.

On dry grass, equal pulls went with equal distances each second.On damp grass, the marker traveled farther in each new second.Changing the surface was followed by a different motion pattern.The damp grass made the marker begin from a faster starting speed.

10.
Which sequence correctly describes the cause-and-effect chain in the field notes?
  • A. The marker slowed, then the storm made the grass damp.
  • B. The storm dampened the grass, then the marker's distances decreased each second.
  • C. The pulls became equal, then the storm dried the grass.
  • D. The marker changed material, then the crew changed the surface.
11.
The marker is moving right. The left pull becomes stronger than the right pull and stays stronger. What is the best prediction?
  • A. It will keep moving right at the same speed.
  • B. It will move right faster for the whole test.
  • C. It will remain still while the two pulls act.
  • D. It will slow, stop, and then begin moving left.
12.
Which setup would best help bring a right-moving marker to a stop?
  • A. A stronger pull to the left than to the right
  • B. Equal pulls to the left and right
  • C. A stronger pull to the right than to the left
  • D. No pulls while the marker keeps its motion
13.
A student says, “The damp grass changed the marker's motion.” Do you agree? Use at least two numbers from Tests F and G to explain your answer.
14.
Plan a fair follow-up test to check whether the damp grass causes the marker to slow. Tell what you would change, what you would keep the same, and what motion data you would record.

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