Topic 5 What a force is — what needs James (0)

Topic 5 · What a force is · Type 1 · bank item PP-1 · tests FOR3-012

EasyMCQType 1 — which of four things done to one object is a force on it

A steel fork lies on a table. Which of these is a force on the fork?

1. a) a girl looking at the fork
2. b) a boy talking about the fork
3. c) a magnet pulling the fork toward it ← key
4. d) a lamp shining on the fork

Why it is this type: A force is a push or a pull on an object. / The magnet pulls the fork, so the magnet's pull is a force. / Looking, talking and shining do not push or pull the fork.

Recommendation: Approve as the exemplar

Topic 5 · What a force is · Type 2 · bank item PP-2 · tests FOR3-001

EasyMCQType 2 — which of four everyday actions is a pull (or, in half the bank, a push); the verbs are never "push" or "pull"

Which of these is a pull?

1. a) A girl dragging a sack of leaves across the yard ← key
2. b) A boy kicking a can down the street
3. c) A child slamming a lid onto a pot
4. d) A dad pressing a doorbell

Why it is this type: A pull is a force toward the puller. / The girl drags the sack toward herself. / Kicking, slamming and pressing send things away from the pusher, so they are pushes.

Recommendation: Approve as the exemplar

Topic 5 · What a force is · Type 3 · bank item PP-3 · tests FOR3-008

EasyMCQType 3 — which object a named push or pull acts on

A boy pushes a lawn mower across the grass. Which object does his push act on?

1. a) the boy
2. b) the grass
3. c) both the boy and the mower
4. d) the lawn mower ← key

Why it is this type: The boy's hands push the lawn mower. / Every force acts on one object. / His push acts on the lawn mower, not on the boy or the grass.

Recommendation: Approve as the exemplar

Topic 5 · What a force is · Type 4 · bank item PP-4 · tests FOR3-006

EasyMCQType 4 — in which direction a named pull (or push) acts on its object, when the stem gives the action but not the direction ("direction", never "way", after Lesson 4 (Which way does the force act?) coins the word — James, 29 Sep 2026)

A dad pulls a suitcase along behind him. In which direction does his pull act on the suitcase?

1. a) away from the dad
2. b) toward the dad ← key
3. c) straight up
4. d) straight down

Why it is this type: The dad pulls the suitcase. / A pull is a force toward the puller. / So his pull acts toward the dad.

Recommendation: Approve as the exemplar

Topic 5 · What a force is · Type 5 · bank item PP-5 · tests FOR3-006

EasyMCQType 5 — in how many directions one described force acts at one time

A boy gives a marble one flick with his finger. How many directions does that one push act in?

1. a) 1 ← key
2. b) 2
3. c) 3
4. d) 4

Why it is this type: Every force has a direction. / One force acts in one direction at one time. / One flick is one push, so it acts in one direction.

Recommendation: Approve as the exemplar

Topic 5 · What a force is · Type 6 · bank item PP-6 · tests FOR3-001 FOR3-008

MediumMCQType 6 — whether the force is a push or a pull, AND what it acts on, in one item ("Is the force a push or a pull, and what does it act on?")

A boy drags a big bag of soccer balls onto the field. Is the force a push or a pull, and what does it act on?

1. a) a push on the bag
2. b) a push on the boy
3. c) a pull on the boy
4. d) a pull on the bag ← key

Why it is this type: Medium because: two atoms in one case — the student sorts the force (pull) and names its object (the bag); either alone is an easy item.

The why line (what a student reads after answering): The bag moves toward the boy, so the force is a pull. / Every force acts on one object. / The boy's pull acts on the bag. / So the force is a pull on the bag.

Recommendation: Approve as the exemplar

Topic 5 · What a force is · Type 7 · bank item PP-7 · tests FOR3-008 FOR3-006

MediumMCQType 7 — which of four sentences describes the force: the object it acts on AND its direction

A girl bats a balloon to the left with her hand. Which of these describes her push?

1. a) It acts on the girl, to the left.
2. b) It acts on the balloon, to the right.
3. c) It acts on the balloon, to the left. ← key
4. d) It acts on the balloon, in every direction.

Why it is this type: Medium because: two atoms in one case — the object the force acts on and its direction; every option is one complete sentence of the same shape (no verdict joined to a reason).

The why line (what a student reads after answering): Her hand pushes the balloon, so the push acts on the balloon. / The balloon goes to the left, so the push acts to the left. / One force acts in one direction.

Recommendation: Approve as the exemplar

Topic 5 · What a force is · Type 8 · bank item PP-8 · tests FOR3-012

HardtypedType 8 — what a described push or pull on an object is called, in a fresh scene where nothing touches the object (no hand; a magnet or Earth does the pulling); the stem never says "force"

TEXT ENTRY

A magnet pulls a steel needle up off the table. No hand touches the needle. What is the magnet's pull on the needle called? Type the word.

Accepted answers (typed): force · a force · the force · forces (exact match after lower-casing, trimming and dropping a final period; no synonym — the lesson taught one word)

Why it is this type: Hard because: two things at once, with no options to lean on — (1) a transfer: a pull with no hand and nothing touching the object, in a scene the lessons never showed (they showed the apple and the paperclip), must still be read as a push-or-pull on an object; (2) production: the student writes the coined word from memory. The wrong answer the item catches: a student who types "pull" or "magnet" has read the stem back and not named what the lesson coined; one who types nothing or "not a force" has kept the "only hands" idea.

The why line (what a student reads after answering): The magnet pulls the needle without touching it. / Any push or pull on an object is called a force. / So the magnet's pull is a force.

Recommendation: Approve as the exemplar

Topic 5 · What a force is · Type 9 · tests FOR3-008

ProposedEasyProposed: Type 9 — the golden set's universal-attribute true / false (pack Q2.2 / M8 form)

True or false: one push can act on two objects at the same time.

1. a) true
2. b) false ← key

Why it is this type: Every force acts on one object. / Two objects would need two pushes. / So one push cannot act on two objects at the same time.

Recommendation: Approve the proposed type

Topic 5 · What a force is · Type 10 · tests FOR3-001

ProposedMediumProposed: Type 10 — the "force stays inside the moving thing" probe (adapted from the Force Concept Inventory's impetus cluster; wording and scene ours)

Iggy kicks a ball. His foot touches the ball for a moment, and then the ball rolls away across the grass. When does Iggy's kick act on the ball?

1. a) only while his foot touches the ball ← key
2. b) the whole time the ball is rolling
3. c) only after his foot leaves the ball
4. d) never

Why it is this type: Medium because: the student has to separate the push (a moment) from the motion it caused (which goes on), against the everyday belief that the kick travels with the ball. Nearest lesson-side instance: Lesson 2 (Push or pull?)'s Sofia claim ("a force is something inside an object" — yes / no); this item asks the same belief as a when-question on a fresh scene. Iggy appears in no Grade 3 content file (build_tools_names.py, 29 Sep 2026). Bank items of this type vary the pusher (a bat, a hand, a foot) and the moving thing.

The why line (what a student reads after answering): A push is a force from a pusher on the thing pushed. / Iggy's foot pushes the ball only while it touches the ball. / When his foot leaves the ball, the kick is over. / The ball keeps rolling, but the kick is not inside it.

Recommendation: Approve the proposed type