Skip to content
LessonPrint

Balanced, or Not is a free printable Grade 3 science worksheet on evidence of balanced and unbalanced forces on motion, aligned to Common Core standard 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 pupils in the class work from the same page. Print it from the browser or download it as a PDF — no account, no email.

Set 6 of 25 · the same problems every time you open this link.

Next setLesson plan

One paper per pupil

12345678910111213141516171819202122232425

Set 1 has all 25 in a single PDF. All 25 sets ask different questions.

Balanced, or Not

3-PS2-1

NameDate

Circle the best answer.

1.What has to be kept the same when testing pulls on a box?
  • A.The size of both pulls
  • B.Nothing, so it is interesting
  • C.The same box, floor and scales
2.A box is pulled 6 units left and 4 units right. What happens?
  • A.It moves left, because the forces are unbalanced
  • B.It stays still
  • C.It moves right
3.What do balanced forces do to an object's motion?
  • A.Leave it unchanged
  • B.Always speed it up
  • C.Always stop it
4.Two teams pull a rope equally hard. What happens?
  • A.The rope speeds up
  • B.The rope breaks
  • C.The rope does not move, because the forces are balanced
5.How would you make a still box start moving?
  • A.Make the forces on it unbalanced
  • B.Remove all forces
  • C.Balance the forces
6.A ball rolls along and slows to a stop. What does that show?
  • A.Forces were balanced
  • B.An unbalanced force acted against its motion
  • C.It ran out of motion
7.A sledge is pushed 5 units and friction pushes back 5 units. What happens?
  • A.It speeds up
  • B.It stops at once
  • C.The sledge keeps moving at the same speed
8.A book rests on a table and does not move. What does that tell you?
  • A.No forces act on it
  • B.Gravity has stopped
  • C.The forces on it are balanced

LessonPrint · 3-PS2-1 · Set 6 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — Balanced, or Not

Set 6. Prints on its own sheet.

  1. 1.The same box, floor and scales
  2. 2.It moves left, because the forces are unbalanced
  3. 3.Leave it unchanged
  4. 4.The rope does not move, because the forces are balanced
  5. 5.Make the forces on it unbalanced
  6. 6.An unbalanced force acted against its motion
  7. 7.The sledge keeps moving at the same speed
  8. 8.The forces on it are balanced

More practice for 3-PS2-1

Show what balanced and unbalanced forces do to how something moves.

Teaching this next? Balanced, or Not is the 55-minute plan for it, with the misconceptions to expect.

All Grade 3 worksheets

Last reviewed 2026-09-05. Aligned to 3-PS2-1 of the Next Generation Science Standards.