Force and Motion Pre-Assessment

Three toy boats with the same mass were in a lake. Two boats were moving and one was stopped. Each boat got bumped by another boat, but not in the same direction. All the boats changed speed as a result of being bumped. Use the information in the diagram to answer.

Which toy boat(s) experienced the strongest force when it was bumped? How do you know?

• The blue toy boat experienced the strongest force because it takes a stronger force to slow something down than it takes to speed something up.

• The gray toy boat experienced the strongest force because it had the fastest ending speed.

• The orange and gray toy boats experienced the strongest forces because they both gained the same force as they sped up. The blue boat lost force, so it slowed down.

• All three toy boats experienced the same strength force because they changed speed by the same amount.

Tags

NGSS.MS-PS2-1

NGSS.MS-PS2-2

Three chairs were rolling across a flat office floor. The blue and red chairs are the same mass, and they have more mass than the yellow chair. Each chair was hit by another chair, but not from the same direction. Use the information in the diagram to answer.

Which chair(s) experienced the strongest force when hit? How do you know?

• The blue and red chairs experienced the strongest force because they are both more massive than the yellow chair and they changed speed by the same amount.

• The red chair experienced the strongest force because it is as massive as the blue chair and has the highest ending speed.

• All three chairs experienced the same force because they changed speed by the same amount.

• The blue chair experienced the strongest force because it takes more force to slow an object than it takes to make it go faster.

Tags

NGSS.MS-PS2-1

NGSS.MS-PS2-2

Scott and James work at a grocery store. After the grocery store closed, they were playing a game with a shopping cart and Scott’s skateboard. They crashed the skateboard and the shopping cart two times. The shopping cart had more mass in Crash 2 than it did in Crash 1. Use the information in the diagram to answer.

In which crash did the skateboard experience a stronger force? Why?

• The skateboard did not experience a force; only the shopping cart experienced a force in the crashes.

• Crash 2; the force on the cart was stronger in this crash, so the force on the skateboard was also stronger.

• The diagram doesn’t tell you anything about the force on the skateboard. It only gives information about the force on the shopping cart.

• The skateboard experienced the same force in both crashes. The shopping cart changed speed by the same amount in each crash, so the force on the skateboard was the same each time.

Tags

NGSS.MS-PS2-1

NGSS.MS-PS2-2

Sandra pushed a wooden block and it slid across the floor. The wooden block gradually slowed down and stopped after moving 10 meters.

Why did the block stop moving?

• The floor exerted a force that is opposite to the direction of the block’s motion.

• The block ran out of force.

• The floor absorbs force from the block.

• All objects stop moving because their natural state is to be still.

Tags

NGSS.MS-PS2-2

Miniature golf is a game in which players hit a golf ball with a club, which causes the ball to roll along the flat ground. Three golf balls with the same mass were rolling on the ground. Each ball was hit by a golf club, but not from the same direction. All the golf balls changed speed as a result of being hit. Use the information in the diagram to answer.

Which golf ball(s) experienced the strongest force when hit? How do you know?

• The white and purple golf balls because they gained force, while the green golf ball lost force.

• The green golf ball because it takes a stronger force to slow something down than to speed something up.

• The green golf ball because it changed speed the most.

• The white golf ball because it has the fastest ending speed.

Tags

NGSS.MS-PS2-1

NGSS.MS-PS2-2

Hockey is a sport in which players use hockey sticks to push a puck across smooth ice. At practice one day, three different-colored hockey pucks were sliding on the ice. The green hockey puck has less mass than the black and purple hockey pucks, which have the same mass. A player hit each hockey puck with a stick, but not from the same direction. Use the information in the diagram to answer.

Which puck(s) experienced the strongest force when hit? How do you know?

• All three hockey pucks experienced the same force because they changed speed by the same amount.

• The black hockey puck; it is more massive and has the fastest ending speed.

• The purple hockey puck; it takes a stronger force to slow down a more massive object than to speed it up.

• The black and purple hockey pucks; they have more mass than the green puck, but changed speed by the same amount.

Tags

NGSS.MS-PS2-1

NGSS.MS-PS2-2

Mateo and Jackie were on a playground rolling some different-sized balls to get them to crash. They used a tennis ball (the same mass) in both crashes. They tried two soccer balls—a pink one (more mass) for Crash 1 and a blue one (less mass) for Crash 2.

Mateo and Jackie want to know what happened to the tennis ball. Use information from the diagram to answer.

In which crash did the tennis ball experience a stronger force? How do you know?

• Crash 1; the force on the soccer ball was stronger in this crash, so the force on the tennis ball was also stronger.

• There was no force on the tennis ball. In each crash only the soccer ball experienced a force.

• It was the same in both crashes. The soccer ball changed speed by the same amount in each crash, so the force on the tennis ball was the same both times.

• The diagram doesn’t tell you anything about the force on the tennis ball. It only gives information about the force on the soccer balls.

Tags

NGSS.MS-PS2-1

NGSS.MS-PS2-2

Officials are looking into three different ski accidents. The accidents happened when three skiers (all with the same mass) were skiing across flat, snowy ground. They were each bumped by another skier, but not all from the same direction. These skiers changed speed as a result of being bumped. Use the information in the diagram to answer.

Which skier(s) experienced the strongest force when bumped? How do you know?

• The skiers in the yellow and purple sweaters; they both gained the same force as they sped up, but the skier in the red sweater lost force and slowed down.

• The skier in the yellow sweater experienced the strongest force because he has the fastest ending speed.

• All three skiers experienced the same strength force because they changed speed by the same amount.

• The skier in the red sweater because it takes a stronger force to slow something down than to speed it up.

Tags

NGSS.MS-PS2-1

NGSS.MS-PS2-2

Three friends were kicking soccer balls at a neighborhood field. Three soccer balls were rolling across the field. The black soccer ball has less mass than the blue and orange balls, which have equal mass. All three soccer balls were kicked by one of the friends, but not all from the same direction. Use the information in the diagram to answer.

Which soccer ball(s) experienced the strongest force? How do you know?

• All three soccer balls experienced the same force because they changed speed by the same amount.

• The orange soccer ball; it has more mass and the fastest ending speed.

• The blue soccer ball; it takes a stronger force to slow down a more massive object than to speed it up.

• The blue and orange soccer balls; they have more mass than the black soccer ball, but changed speed by the same amount.

Tags

NGSS.MS-PS2-1

NGSS.MS-PS2-2

Scientists created models that show a rocky asteroid crashing into a moon (less mass) and a planet (more mass). In both crashes, the asteroid was the same mass. Scientists want to know what happened to the asteroid. Use the information in the diagram to answer.

In which crash did the asteroid experience a stronger force? How do you know?

• Crash 2; the force on the planet was stronger in this crash, so the force on the asteroid was also stronger.

• There was no force on the asteroid. Only the moon and planet experienced a force in each crash.

• The diagram doesn’t tell you anything about the force on the asteroid. It only gives information about the force on the planet and the moon.

• The force was the same in both crashes. The planet and moon changed speed by the same amount so that means the force on the asteroid was the same in both crashes.

Tags

NGSS.MS-PS2-1

NGSS.MS-PS2-2