Balanced and Unbalanced Forces Task Cards for 6th-Grade Science

If you’re looking for a collection of force and motion questions to provide to your students as a review activity, look no further than this set of balanced and unbalanced forces task cards!

This set of 24 task cards has been designed by our expert team of teachers to help your students explore key concepts related to balanced and unbalanced forces. Each card features a multiple-choice question about whether the forces on the object are balanced or unbalanced. 

Here is an example question:

A bowling ball is at rest, then a player pushes it forward to roll down the aisle. The forces acting on the bowling ball are:

a) Balanced

b) Unbalanced

The resource download for this set of force and motion questions includes:

• Instruction page
• 24 x task cards
• 2 x challenge cards
• Recording sheet
• Answer sheet

We have provided an easy-print PDF or an editable Google Slides version of these balanced and unbalanced forces task cards. Print the cards on cardstock to increase the durability of the resource, then place all the cards together in a large envelope or ziplock bag for safekeeping.

Multiple Uses for Force and Motion Questions 

These force and motion task cards make a great science center activity, but they can be used in many other ways in your science lessons, too! Here are some ideas that you might like to consider when it comes time to implement this resource:

1. Task Card Relay – Divide the class into teams and have them line up. Place the force and motion questions at the front of the room. The first student from each team runs to the task cards, selects one, brings it back to their team and discusses the answer. Once they agree, the next student in line repeats the process. The first team to answer all the questions correctly wins. 
2. Four Corners – Assign each corner of the classroom a letter – a, b, c or d. Project the force and motion task cards onto your interactive whiteboard and read each question aloud. Have the students move to the corner of the room that matches the answer they feel is correct.
3. Scavenger Hunt – Hide the force and motion task cards around the classroom or even in the school courtyard or playground. Students must find the task cards and answer the questions on them. To add a competitive element, you can set a time limit and see which group can find and answer the most questions correctly.

Download to Explore Balanced and Unbalanced Forces

Use the Download button above to select your chosen file format.

As this resource contains an answer page, we recommend printing one copy of the entire file, removing the answer page, then making further copies if required.

This resource was created by David Steffes, a teacher in California and a Teach Starter collaborator.

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