Q1.

Forces

Some children did an experiment to find out which footwear had the best grip.

They tied a string to a shoe.

They put weights (masses) in the pan until the shoe just started to move.

(a) Draw an arrow on the diagram to show the direction in which the shoe will move.

1 mark

(b) Name the force which is pulling downwards on the pan and weights.

......................................................................................................................
1 mark

(c) Name the force resisting the shoe sliding across the table.

......................................................................................................................
1 mark

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 (d) The children recorded their results.

How will the children use their results to decide which footwear has the best grip?

......................................................................................................................

......................................................................................................................

......................................................................................................................
1 mark

Q2. Weighing Bricks

(a) The children weigh bricks using a forcemeter.

In air the forcemeter reads 35N with the rubber brick and 30N with the house brick.

In water the forcemeter reads 10N with the rubber brick and 12N with the house
brick.

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 Complete the table to show the readings on the forcemeter.

2 marks

(b) The forcemeter spring is stretched when a brick is hung on it.

Name the force which pulls down on the brick.

......................................................................................................................
1 mark

(c) Why is the pull on the forcemeter different for the rubber brick and the house brick?

......................................................................................................................

......................................................................................................................
1 mark

(d) The forcemeter readings are greater in air than in water.

Why is this?

......................................................................................................................

......................................................................................................................
1 mark

(e) The brick is not moving.

There is a force up and a force down acting on the brick.

Which statement is correct?

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 Tick ONE box.

The force down is bigger than the force up.

The force up is bigger than the force down.

The force up is the same as the force down.

The force up is twice the force down.

1 mark

Q3. Magnets

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 (a) Which TWO of these metals will attract the magnet?

Tick TWO boxes.

iron aluminium

brass steel

copper lead

2 marks

(b) Complete the following sentences using either repel or attract.

(i) The North pole of a magnet is held near the North pole of another magnet.

The magnets .................................................... each other.

1 mark

(ii) The South pole of one magnet is held near the North pole of another magnet.

The magnets .................................................... each other.

1 mark

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Q4. Magnets

(a) Children tested the strength of three magnets by finding out how many steel paper
clips each magnet held.

They recorded their results.

magnet number of paper clips held

horseshoe 3

bar 8

round 5

Look at the results in the table.

Which is the strongest magnet?

......................................................................................................................
1 mark

(b) Explain how you decided which is the strongest magnet.

......................................................................................................................
1 mark

(c)

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 1 mark

(d) Explain why a magnet will not attract plastic paper clips.

......................................................................................................................

......................................................................................................................
1 mark

Q5. Helium Balloon

(a) The children have some balloons in the classroom.

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 They have been filled with helium.

When Robert lets his balloon go, it rises to the ceiling.

Why does the balloon go up to the ceiling?

Tick ONE box.

The air is not pushing down on the balloon.

There is less gravity pulling down on the balloon at the ceiling.

The pull down on the balloon is less than the push up.

The push up on the balloon is less than the pull down.

1 mark

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(b) Hilary puts twelve paperclips on the string of her balloon.

The balloon stays at the same height above the floor of the classroom when she lets
go.

Explain why the forces acting on Hilary’s balloon, with twelve paper clips on the
string, make it stay at the same height.

......................................................................................................................

......................................................................................................................
1 mark

(c) What will happen to the movement of the balloon when she has thirteen paperclips
on the string?

......................................................................................................................
1 mark

(d) Explain your answer to part (c) by describing the forces on the balloon.

......................................................................................................................

......................................................................................................................
1 mark

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Q6. Forcemeter

(a) Ellen and Michael investigated how four different objects stretched four
identical elastic bands.

Which object was the heaviest?

......................................................................................................................
1 mark

(b) They used a forcemeter to measure the weight of the objects in newtons.

Why does a forcemeter contain a spring?

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 Tick ONE box.

Because the spring is:

shiny metal

stretchy strong

1 mark

(c) The children recorded their results.

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 What was the reading on the forcemeter when the cup was hung from it?

......................................................................................................................
1 mark

(d) Describe how the size of the force affects the length of the spring in the forcemeter.

......................................................................................................................

......................................................................................................................
2 marks

Q7. Forces

(a) Sarah is exploring forces.

She uses a forcemeter to lift or pull several objects.

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 She records her findings in a table.

Sarah has not written the name of the units in her table.

Write the name of the units used to measure force.

Activity Force needed

to make it start to move

...............................

Pulling a door open 3

Lifting a pencil case 1

Lifting a bucket of sand 5

Pulling a box across the floor 2

1 mark

(b) Look at the table of results.

Which of these objects was easiest to move?

......................................................................................................................
1 mark

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 (c) The forcemeter is pulling the bucket up.

What is the name of the force pulling the bucket down?

......................................................................................................................
1 mark

(d) Sarah tries pulling the box across different kinds of floors.

Sarah finds it harder to pull the box on the carpet than on the wooden floor.

Name the force that increases when Sarah pulls the box on the carpet.

......................................................................................................................
1 mark

Q8. Parachutes

(a) Some children make four paper parachutes.

Each parachute has a different sized canopy.

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 They drop each parachute from the same height.

They measure how long it takes each parachute to reach the ground.

Here is a table of their results.

Parachute Size (area) of canopy Time to reach ground

(cm2) (seconds)

A 100 1.0

B 400 2.0

C 625 2.5

D 900 3.0

Which parachute took the longest time to reach the ground?

...............................
1 mark

(b) The picture below shows two forces acting on a parachute as it falls.

Write the name of the force up, on the line below.

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 force up

...............................
1 mark

(c) Look at the table of results.

Describe how the time taken to reach the ground depends on the area of the
canopy.

......................................................................................................................

......................................................................................................................
2 marks

Q9. Measuring forces

(a) Lizzie uses a forcemeter.

She measures the force needed to start a brick moving on different surfaces.

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 Here are her results.

Surface Pulling force

(Newtons)

A 19

B 30

C 16

D 6

Write A, B, C or D in each box below to put the surfaces in order of force needed to
start the brick moving.

easiest surface hardest surface

to pull the brick to pull the brick
on on

1 mark

(b) Lizzie uses the forcemeter to pull the brick on a table top.
She spreads a spoonful of oil on the table top.
She puts the brick on the oil.

What happens when she tries pulling the brick on the oil?

Tick ONE box.

The brick moves more easily.

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The brick is harder to move.

The brick will not move.

The brick floats.

1 mark

(c) The diagram below shows three forces acting on the brick as it is pulled
on each surface.

Force B makes it hard to start the brick moving.

Write the name of Force B below.

.....................................................
1 mark

Q10. Opposing Forces

(a) Some children are riding skateboards. It is easy to get hurt riding a skateboard.

Look at the picture below.

List TWO pieces of safety equipment that the children have used.

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 (1) .................................................................................................................

(2) .................................................................................................................

1 mark

(b) Jane and Louis are facing in the same direction. They are on level ground
and they are not moving.

Jane gently pushes Louis on his skateboard. He moves forwards.

As Louis moves, Jane also moves.

In which direction do Jane and her skateboard move when she pushes Louis?

Tick ONE box.

1 mark

(c) Jane and Louis go back to the same starting places. Jane gives Louis
a bigger push on his skateboard. They both move faster this time.

(i) What happens to the distance that Louis travels on this

second push compared to the first push?

............................................................................................................

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 1 mark

(ii) What happens to the distance that Jane travels on the

second push compared to the first push?

............................................................................................................
1 mark

(d) Dave goes over a jump on his skateboard. When he jumps he stays in the air for a
short time.

What force makes him return to the ground?

......................................................................................................................
1 mark

Q11. Tractor

(a) Rachel has a toy tractor and trailer. Both have magnets at each end.

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 When Rachel pulls the tractor, the trailer comes with it.

Explain why the magnets cause the trailer to move forward when Rachel pulls on
the tractor.

..............................................................................................................……
1 mark

(b) Rachel turns her trailer around. She pushes the trailer towards the tractor. The
tractor moves away without touching the trailer.

Explain why the magnets cause the tractor to move away when Rachel pushes the
trailer towards it.

..............................................................................................................……

…..................................................................................................................
1 mark

(c) Rachel puts some 20g masses in the trailer. She turns the trailer back around, so
the tractor pulls the trailer again.

Label the arrows on the picture below to say what forces they show.

One force has been labelled for you.

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 2 marks

(d) Rachel can put masses weighing 160g in the trailer before it separates from the
tractor. She does this experiment on thick carpet.

Rachel repeats her experiment on a new surface. This time, the trailer holds 240g
before it separates from the tractor.

Tick ONE box to predict the new surface Rachel tested.

grass floorboards

gravel path fluffy rug

1 mark

Q12. Bath mat

(a) Some children want to find the best fabric for making a bath mat.

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 They set up two different tests.

TEST 1 - Does the fabric slip easily on a smooth surface?

They slowly lift the ramp until the fabric starts to slide.

Here are the results of Test 1:

Fabric Height of ramp when fabric

starts to slide (cm)

A 11

B 8

C 13

D 16

Look at the table.

Put the fabrics in order to show how easily each fabric slipped.

Write A, B, C, or D in each box.

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Slipped Did not
easily slip easily

1 mark

(b) What is the name of the force that makes it hard for the fabric to start moving?

......................................................................................................................
1 mark

(c) TEST 2 - Does the fabric absorb water?

The children pour the same amount of water onto each fabric.

They hold up the fabric to let the water drip off.

Here are the results of Test 2:

Fabric Observations

A Almost no water drips off.

B Nearly all the water drips off.

C Some of the water drips off.

D No water drips off.

Look at the table.

Put the fabrics in order to show how absorbent each fabric was.

Write A, B, C, or D in each box.

Most Least
absorbent absorbent

1 mark

(d) Look at the results of Test 1 and Test 2.

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 (i) Which fabric will make the best bath mat?

.....................................................
1 mark

(ii) Give TWO reasons why the fabric you chose is better than the other fabrics.

1. .........................................................................................................
1 mark

2. .........................................................................................................
1 mark

Q13. Magnetic noticeboard

(a) Miya uses a magnet to hold a notice on the noticeboard in her classroom.

The board is coated in white plastic.

Tick ONE box to show which material may be under the plastic coating for the
magnet to stick to the board.

steel paper

wood cork

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 1 mark

(b) Miya has four magnets. She wants to measure how much force is needed to pull
each magnet away from the board.
The picture below shows how she carries out her test.

Write the label on the picture to name the equipment she uses to measure the force.

1 mark

(c) Miya measured the force for each magnet three times to calculate the average
force.

The table below shows her results.

Average force needed to pull

Magnet
the magnet away (N)

A 2

B 10

C 5

D 6

Which magnet is the strongest?

.......................................................
1 mark

(d) Miya observes that as she pulls on the magnet the force reading increases until the

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 magnet comes away from the board.

Tick ONE box to show when Miya should take the force reading.

before she starts just after she starts

pulling on the magnet pulling on the magnet

just before the after the magnet

magnet pulls away is pulled away
from the board from the board

1 mark

(e) Give ONE reason why it is better to measure the force for each magnet three times
instead of just once.

......................................................................................................................

......................................................................................................................
1 mark

Q14. Isaac Newton

(a) Isaac Newton was a famous scientist who was born in 1642.

There is a famous story about Newton watching an apple fall from a tree.

Newton thought a force must cause the apple to fall.

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 Tick ONE box to show which force on the apple causes it to fall down from the tree.

a pulling force a pushing force

towards the tree from the apple

a pulling force a pushing force

towards the Earth from the air

1 mark

(b) Newton did different investigations to test his ideas.

Why was it important for Newton to test his ideas using investigations?

.....................................................................................................................

.....................................................................................................................
1 mark

(c) Newton realised that the force which made the apple fall to the ground also causes
the Earth to orbit the Sun.

Name the force that causes the Earth to orbit the Sun.

..........................................................
1 mark

(d) How long does the Earth take to orbit the Sun once?

.....................................................................................................................
1 mark

(e) How does the Earth move to cause day and night?

.....................................................................................................................

.....................................................................................................................
1 mark

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Q15. Space station

(a) Class 6F has been watching a programme about the International Space Station.

Astronauts live in the space station for many months. Each day they spend two
hours on exercise machines.

(This photograph has been reproduced by kind permission of NASA.)

Why do astronauts need to exercise while they are in the space station?

..............................................................................................................
1 mark

(b) The astronauts are not allowed to eat bread or crackers because the crumbs float
around the space station.
On Earth, crumbs fall down.

Why do crumbs fall down to the ground on Earth?

Write about a force in your answer.

..............................................................................................................

..............................................................................................................
1 mark

(c) Food that astronauts take into space has been dried to remove air and
water. This stops micro-organisms growing on the food.

Write true or false next to each statement about their food.

Dried food is better than fresh food to take into space

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 because it... True or false?

weighs more. ......................

decays more slowly. ......................

1 mark

(d) The astronauts investigate plants in the space station.

The plants grow in a special jelly instead of soil.
The jelly contains the things plants need to grow.

What things from the jelly do the plants need to take in through the roots?

Tick ONE box.

water and light nutrient and air

water and nutrients air and water

1 mark

(e) The roots of plants take in some things the plants need to grow.

Describe another function of the roots.

..............................................................................................................
1 mark

Q16. Shoes

Emma needs to buy some new shoes for the winter.

You must help Emma find out which are best for walking to school.

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Emma could find out:

• how waterproof the shoes are

OR
• how good the shoes are at gripping.

Plan an investigation to help Emma find out more about her shoes.

Write ONE question you could investigate to find the best shoes for walking to school in
winter.

(a) What ONE factor should you change as you do your investigation?

.......................................................................................................................
1 mark

(b) What factor would you observe or measure in your investigation?

.......................................................................................................................

.......................................................................................................................
1 mark

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 (c) What is ONE factor you should keep the same to make your test fair?

.......................................................................................................................
1 mark

(d) Explain why the factor you chose to observe or measure is important for deciding
the best shoes to wear in winter.

.......................................................................................................................

.......................................................................................................................
1 mark

Q17. Floating on salty water

(a) Dominic wants to find out if the saltiness of water affects how well things float.

Dominic pushes a straw into a clay ball. He puts them in a measuring cylinder filled
with water.

Dominic notices the bottom of the clay ball floats level with 32 cm3 on the measuring
cylinder.

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 (i) What force is pulling down on the straw and clay ball?

..................................................
1 mark

(ii) What force makes the straw and clay ball float even though there is a force
pulling them down?

...............................................................................................................
1 mark

(b) Dominic records the height of the clay ball in the measuring cylinder.
Then he repeats his test. Each time he adds another teaspoon of salt to the water.
The table below shows his results.

Estimate the height of the clay ball in the measuring cylinder when two teaspoons of
salt are added.

Page 33
Amount of salt in
0 1 2 3
water (teaspoons)

Level at which clay

32 34 39
ball floats (cm3) ...............

1 mark

(c) Tick ONE box to show which material caused the forces acting on the straw and
clay ball to change.

water salt sand air

1 mark

(d) Circle the correct word from each box to complete the sentence about the force on
the clay ball.

upwards
The greater the force on the clay ball
downwards

higher
the it floats.
lower

1 mark

Q18. Magnets

(a) Callum and Izzy want to find out the force needed to pull different bar magnets apart
from a horseshoe magnet.

They set up the equipment as shown in the photo.

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 Callum
pulls
forcemeter
and
horseshoe
magnet

Izzy holds bar horseshoe forcemeter

magnet still magnet

Callum needs to measure the force as the magnets separate.

It is difficult. The forcemeter reading goes back to zero as soon as the magnets
separate.

Would the suggestions below help Callum get more reliable results? Write yes or no
after each suggestion.

Yes or no?
Take a practice measurement to find out
roughly when the magnets separate. .....................

Pull the forcemeter very quickly. .....................

Take the measurement three times. .....................

Use a different horseshoe magnet each time. .....................

2 marks

(b) Callum measures the force using N as the unit of measurement.

What unit of measurement does N stand for?

.....................................................
1 mark

(c) Callum and Izzy test more bar magnets. In the table they record the force needed to
pull each bar magnet apart from the horseshoe magnet.

Bar magnet Length of bar magnet Force needed to pull

tested (cm) magnets apart (N)

A 1.5 2.5

B 5.0 1.8

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 C 7.0 7.0

D 7.5 3.0

What was the length of the weakest bar magnet?

..................................................... cm
1 mark

(d) Before the test, Callum made a prediction. He said, ‘Longer magnets will need more
force to separate them from the horseshoe magnet.’
The results do not support Callum’s prediction.

Describe how the results do not support Callum’s prediction.

.......................................................................................................................

........................................................................................................................
1 mark

(e) Callum and Izzy think of different questions they could investigate.

Write true or false next to each question to show if the investigation would compare
how strong the magnets are.

True or false?
How many layers of paper will stop each magnet
attracting a pin? ...................

How many types of materials will the magnets attract? ...................

How many paperclips will each magnet hold? ...................

1 mark

Q19. Block tower game

(a) Suzy and Peter are playing a game with a tower of wooden blocks.

They take turns to pull a block out of the tower and put the block back on top of the

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 tower.

Suzy pulls a block out of the tower.

Suzy says, ‘Some blocks are easier to pull out of the tower than others.’

What kind of statement has Suzy made? Tick ONE box.

a prediction an observation

a plan a conclusion

1 mark

(b) Some blocks are more difficult to pull out because of friction.

Draw ONE arrow on the picture to show the direction of friction on the block that
Suzy pulls out of the tower.

1 mark

(c) Name the equipment that Suzy could use to measure the force needed to pull the
block out of the tower.

.....................................................
1 mark

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 (d) The game ends when someone pulls a block out of the tower and the tower falls
over.

What is the name of the force that causes the blocks to fall?

.....................................................
1 mark

(e) The blocks are solid.

Tick ONE box to show a property of all solids.

All solids keep their

All solids are heavy.
shape.

All solids are

All solids are hard.
waterproof.

1 mark

Page 38
Q20. Drums

(a) This is a picture of a famous musician.

Her name is Evelyn Glennie. She plays the drums.

Evelyn moves the drumstick downwards to hit the drum skin.

Then the drumstick bounces back up.

Tick ONE box to show what force causes the drumstick to bounce up after it has hit
the drum skin.

a pushing force from the a pushing force from

drum skin gravity

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a pulling force from the a pulling force from
drum skin gravity

1 mark

(b) Evelyn is deaf. She cannot hear the drum with her ears.

When she has bare feet, she can feel the drum’s sound with her feet.

The sound can travel from the drum through the air to Evelyn’s feet.

Name ONE other thing that the sound can travel through from the drum to get to
Evelyn’s feet.

........................................................................................................................
1 mark

(c) What can Evelyn feel with her feet when the drum makes a sound?

........................................................................................................................

........................................................................................................................
1 mark

(d) Evelyn can change the way she plays the drum.
She can make the sound get louder or higher.

Tick ONE box on each row of the table to show if the sound will get louder or higher.

The sound...
How Evelyn

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 plays the drum does not get
gets higher. gets louder.
higher or louder.
with a tighter
drum skin

hit the drum

with more force

hit the drum faster

with the same force

1 mark

Q21. Foil boats

(a) Some children did an investigation with four foil boats.

Draw an arrow on the diagram below to show the force from the water on the boat.

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 1 mark

(b) All of the boats were made from identical foil trays. The photographs and diagrams
below show the different shapes of the boats.

The children counted how many 1p coins they put in each boat to make it sink. Boat
3 needed the most 1p coins to make it sink.

Tick ONE box to show why boat 3 needed the most 1p coins to make it sink.

Boat 3...

is the lightest. has the thickest base.

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is the strongest. has the largest base.

1 mark

(c) Write true or false next to each of the statements about boat 3.

Compared with the other boats... True or false?

boat 3 was more waterproof.

.......................

there was a bigger force from the water

stopping boat 3 sinking. .......................

there was less gravity pulling down on boat

3. .......................

2 marks

Q22. Spinning cardboard roll

(a) Owen ties a weight onto some string.

He winds the string around a cardboard roll.

Owen lets go of the weight. The weight falls, the

cardboard roll spins and the string unwinds. Owen
records the time taken for the string to unwind.

Draw ONE arrow on the picture below to show the direction of the force that makes
the weight fall.

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 1 mark

(b) Tick ONE box to show the piece of equipment Owen should use to measure the
time taken for the string to unwind.

1 mark

(c) Owen repeats his test.

He slots different sized pieces of cardboard into the roll each time.

The table below shows Owen’s results.

Page 44
 Estimate the time taken for the string to unwind when the size of the piece of
cardboard is 30 cm2.

..................................................... s
1 mark

(d) The larger the piece of cardboard, the more slowly it spins.

Name the force that slows down the spinning piece of cardboard.

.....................................................
1 mark

(e) After the test, Owen thinks of four more questions about the spinning roll.

Tick THREE boxes to show which of these questions he could answer by doing
more tests with the spinning roll.

Will the time to unwind be What is the name of

longer if the string is the force that makes
longer? the weight fall?

How can I make the What happens if I put

string unwind more two weights on the
slowly? string?

1 mark

Q23. Rolling marble

(a) John and Ravinder are investigating a marble rolling down a ramp.

Page 45
 Photograph A Photograph B

They change the height of the ramp.

They measure how far the marble rolls from the bottom of the ramp.

They repeat their test with the ramp at different heights.

What equipment could be used to measure the height of the ramp?

....................................................
1 mark

(b) Tick ONE box in each row of the table to show how they should do their
investigation to make sure their test is fair.

Variable Must be Must be Makes no

the same different difference

surface of the ramp

height of the ramp

size of the marble

mass of the marble

2 marks

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(c) John and Ravinder must decide what
heights they should put the ramp at.

Look at this photograph.

John says, ‘This ramp is too steep.It will

not give good results.’

Photogr
aph C

Explain why the ramp in photograph C is too steep to get good results.

.................................................................................................................

.................................................................................................................

(d) Ravinder plots a graph to show their results.

Draw a cross on the graph to show the distance the marble would roll if the ramp
was 0 cm high.

1 mark

Page 47
Q24. Seaweed and trees

(a) Maria found different types of seaweed on the beach.

Her teacher has a key to identify the seaweeds.

Use the key to identify the different seaweeds below.

Seaweed A has been done for you.

Seaweed A is Seaweed D is Seaweed C is Seaweed B is

Bladder wrack
........................... ........................... ............................ ...........................
1 mark

(b) Bladder wrack seaweed has pockets filled with gas. The pockets help it float near
the surface of the water to get more sunlight.

Draw ONE arrow on the diagram to show the force from the water that makes the
seaweed float near the surface of the water.

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 1 mark

(c) Trees also have features that help their leaves to get as much sunlight as possible.

Tick ONE feature of a tree and explain how this feature helps the leaves to get as
much sunlight as possible.

trunk branches

How the feature helps the leaves to get sunlight: ..................................

.................................................................................................................
1 mark

(d) Seaweeds do not have roots. Trees do have roots.

Tick THREE boxes to show the functions of tree roots.

to make seeds to absorb water

to anchor the plant inthe

to take up materials
ground

to carry new materialfor to protect the

growth to the leaves plantfrom predators

1 mark

Page 49