Testing a Push Fairly is a free printable Grade 3 science worksheet on planning an investigation into how forces change motion, aligned to NGSS performance expectation 3-PS2-1. It prints 8 questions with an answer key on its own sheet of paper, in 25 versions that each ask different questions, so no two students in the class work from the same page. Print it from the browser or download it as a PDF — no account, no email.
Set 1 of 25 · the same problems every time you open this link.
C.One roll might be unusual, so the results are checked
2.A car slows and stops on carpet. Which force made it stop?
A.No force, it just ran out
B.Friction from the carpet, pushing against its motion
C.Magnetism
3.You want to test whether two pushes move a box further than one. What do you change?
A.The floor
B.The number of pushes
C.The box
4.Two equal pushes from opposite sides leave a box still. What should you write down?
A.The forces were balanced, so the box did not move
B.There were no forces
C.The box was too heavy
5.What should you measure to see how much each floor slowed the car?
A.How far the car rolls before it stops
B.How loud the car is
C.The color of the car
6.You test pushing a box from one side, then from both sides at once. What are you testing?
A.How the direction of the forces changes the motion
B.How heavy the box is
C.What color works best
7.You want to know if a bigger push makes a ball roll further. How should you push?
A.A big push on a ball and a small push on a box
B.The same push every time
C.A small push, then a big push, on the same ball and floor
8.You want to know whether carpet slows a toy car more than tile. What must stay the same?
A.The car, the ramp and the height it starts from
B.The floor it rolls onto
C.Nothing at all
LessonPrint · 3-PS2-1 · Set 1 · free to copy for classroom use
Answer key — Testing a Push Fairly
Set 1. Prints on its own sheet.
1.One roll might be unusual, so the results are checked
2.Friction from the carpet, pushing against its motion
3.The number of pushes
4.The forces were balanced, so the box did not move
5.How far the car rolls before it stops
6.How the direction of the forces changes the motion
7.A small push, then a big push, on the same ball and floor
8.The car, the ramp and the height it starts from
Questions about Testing a Push Fairly
What does the Testing a Push Fairly worksheet cover?
It practices planning an investigation into how forces change motion — 8 questions for Grade 3, all on NGSS 3-PS2-1: Show what balanced and unbalanced forces do to how something moves. The instruction to students is “Circle the best answer”, and the answer key follows on the next sheet.
Which NGSS performance expectation does Testing a Push Fairly practice?
3-PS2-1, under Physical Science for Grade 3. The published performance expectation reads: “Plan and conduct an investigation to provide evidence of the effects of balanced and unbalanced forces on the motion of an object.” The worksheet assesses that performance expectation rather than a paraphrase of it.
What age or grade is this worksheet for?
Testing a Push Fairly is written for Grade 3, typically ages 8-9. It is one of the sheets on 3-PS2-1, so it suits any student working at that standard — including older students revisiting it and younger ones working ahead.
Does Testing a Push Fairly come with an answer key?
Yes. All 8 answers are generated from the same problems as the questions, so the key cannot drift out of step with the sheet. It starts on a fresh sheet of paper, after the questions, so it is not handed out with the class by accident.
How many different versions of Testing a Push Fairly can I print?
25 — one per student, and all 25 ask different questions. Set 1 downloads the whole class as a single PDF. Every version is fixed to its own address, so a sheet printed today holds the same problems when you reopen it next week.
Is Testing a Push Fairly free to print and photocopy?
Yes. Testing a Push Fairly, its answer key and its 25 versions are free to print and photocopy for your own class, with no account, no email capture and no subscription at the download step. Please do not resell them or republish them as your own.
More practice for 3-PS2-1
Show what balanced and unbalanced forces do to how something moves.