Topic 6 Forces that touch, and forces that don't — what needs James (0)

Topic 6 · Forces that touch, and forces that don't · Type 1 · bank item PP-1 · tests FOR3-020

EasyMCQType 1 — which of four described forces acts without touching (or, the mirror form: which one touches) · PP-1

Which of these forces acts without touching?

1. a) a dog pulls on its leash
2. b) a girl pushes a bike along the path
3. c) Earth pulls a raindrop down to the ground ← key
4. d) a boy pulls a door shut

Why it is this type: The dog touches its collar and leash, the girl touches the bike, and the boy touches the door. / Nothing touches the raindrop on its way down. / Earth pulls it down anyway. / Earth's pull is the force that acts without touching.

Recommendation: Approve as the exemplar

Topic 6 · Forces that touch, and forces that don't · Type 1 · bank item PP-2 · tests FOR3-027 FOR3-020

EasyMCQType 1, second form — which of four described forces acts without touching (or, the mirror form: which one touches) · PP-2

Which of these forces acts without touching?

1. a) a rubbed balloon pulls a girl's hair up ← key
2. b) a boy pushes a bike along
3. c) a girl pulls a wagon by its handle
4. d) a cat pushes a door open with its head

Why it is this type: The boy touches the bike, the girl touches the wagon's handle, and the cat touches the door. / The rubbed balloon stays a gap away from the girl's hair. / The balloon pulls her hair up anyway. / The rubbed balloon's pull is the force that acts without touching.

Recommendation: Approve as the exemplar

Topic 6 · Forces that touch, and forces that don't · Type 2 · bank item PP-3 · tests FOR3-027

EasyMCQType 2 — what a light thing does when a RUBBED balloon is held just above or beside it

A boy rubs a balloon on his hair and holds it just above a small feather on a table. What happens to the feather?

1. a) It rises up toward the balloon. ← key
2. b) It stays still on the table.
3. c) It slides away from the balloon.
4. d) It rolls to the edge of the table.

Why it is this type: The balloon has been rubbed. / A rubbed balloon pulls light things toward it, without touching them. / A feather is light. / So the feather rises up toward the balloon.

Recommendation: Approve as the exemplar

Topic 6 · Forces that touch, and forces that don't · Type 3 · bank item PP-4 · tests FOR3-026 FOR3-001

MediumMCQType 3 — which kind of force the puller puts on the thing, sorting on two ideas at once (push or pull; touches or doesn't); the stem describes the motion and never says "push" or "pull" · PP-4

A magnet is held near a steel washer on a table, and the washer slides toward the magnet. Which kind of force does the magnet put on the washer?

1. a) a push that touches
2. b) a pull that touches
3. c) a push that doesn't touch
4. d) a pull that doesn't touch ← key

Why it is this type: Medium because: two sorts at once (push or pull from Topic 5, read off the motion; touches or doesn't from this topic), on a fresh scene.

The why line (what a student reads after answering): The washer moves toward the magnet, so the magnet pulls it. / There is a gap between the magnet and the washer the whole time. / So the magnet's pull is a pull that doesn't touch.

Recommendation: Approve as the exemplar

Topic 6 · Forces that touch, and forces that don't · Type 3 · bank item PP-5 · tests FOR3-026 FOR3-027

MediumMCQType 3, second case — which kind of force the puller puts on the thing, sorting on two ideas at once (push or pull; touches or doesn't); the stem describes the motion and never says "push" or "pull" · PP-5

A rubbed balloon is held above bits of tissue, and the bits jump up to it. Which kind of force does the balloon put on the bits?

1. a) a push that touches
2. b) a pull that touches
3. c) a push that doesn't touch
4. d) a pull that doesn't touch ← key

Why it is this type: Medium because: the same two sorts on the topic's third non-touching force.

The why line (what a student reads after answering): The bits move toward the balloon, so the balloon pulls them. / There is a gap between the balloon and the bits when they start to move. / So the balloon's pull is a pull that doesn't touch.

Recommendation: Approve as the exemplar

Topic 6 · Forces that touch, and forces that don't · Type 4 · bank item PP-6 · tests FOR3-027

MediumMCQType 4 — a balloon over light things does nothing: what should the child do so the balloon pulls them

Anya holds a balloon above bits of tissue paper, and nothing happens. What should she do so the balloon pulls the bits up?

1. a) wet the balloon under the tap
2. b) rub the balloon on her sweater ← key
3. c) hold the balloon still for longer
4. d) warm the balloon in her hands

Why it is this type: Medium because: the fact is applied backwards — the student names the missing step from the outcome, on a fresh scene. Each distractor is a child's guess; none does anything.

The why line (what a student reads after answering): A balloon that has not been rubbed pulls nothing. / A rubbed balloon pulls light things toward it. / So Anya should rub the balloon on her sweater. / Wetting it, waiting or warming it changes nothing.

Recommendation: Approve as the exemplar

Topic 6 · Forces that touch, and forces that don't · Type 5 · bank item PP-7 · tests FOR3-020 FOR3-026

HardtypedType 5 — a thing moves and the stem says nothing touched it; the stem never names the puller: what pulls it (or what is the person holding) · PP-7

text entry

A ripe plum comes loose from a tree and falls to the grass. Nothing touches the plum on its way down. What pulls the plum down?

Accepted answers (typed): Earth's pull · Earth · the Earth · the Earth's pull · Earths pull · the Earths pull · Earth pulls it · Earth pulls it down · the pull of Earth · the pull of the Earth · and, from 29 Sep 2026 (James: "gravity is also correct"): gravity · Earth's gravity · the Earth's gravity · Earths gravity · gravity pulls it · gravity pulls it down · the pull of gravity · gravity's pull · gravitys pull — the synonym set is TOPIC["synonyms"] = [["Earth's pull", "gravity", "Earth's gravity"]] and sweep S30(b) checks every accept list against it

Why it is this type: Hard because: the stem never names the puller. The student reasons in two steps — nothing touches the plum, so the force is one of the three that don't touch; it falls down, so the puller is Earth — and PRODUCES the name instead of picking it from four. "Gravity" IS accepted (James, 29 Sep 2026, on this very item: "gravity is also correct"); the course still teaches and shows "Earth's pull" as the first accepted answer, so a student who typed gravity is marked right and reads the lesson's phrase in the why.

The why line (what a student reads after answering): Nothing touches the plum on its way down. / Earth pulls it down anyway. / Earth's pull is a force that doesn't touch.

Recommendation: Approve as the exemplar

Topic 6 · Forces that touch, and forces that don't · Type 5 · bank item PP-8 · tests FOR3-020 FOR3-026

HardtypedType 5, second form — a thing moves and the stem says nothing touched it; the stem never names the puller: what pulls it (or what is the person holding) · PP-8

text entry

Elias holds something just above a steel nut, and the nut jumps up to it. Nothing touched the nut. What is Elias holding?

Accepted answers (typed): a magnet · magnet · the magnet · a bar magnet · his magnet

Why it is this type: Hard because: the sort comes first (nothing touched the nut, so the force doesn't touch — FOR3-026), then the name of the puller from what moved (steel jumps up: a magnet's pull — FOR3-020 with Topic 4); the answer is produced and appears nowhere on the page. A rubbed balloon is not a second defensible answer: the lesson teaches that it pulls LIGHT things (hair, paper bits, an empty can), and a steel nut is not one.

The why line (what a student reads after answering): Nothing touched the nut, and it still moved. / So the pull on it is a force that doesn't touch. / The nut is steel, and it jumped up to the thing in Elias's hand. / A magnet pulls steel without touching it. / So Elias is holding a magnet.

Recommendation: Approve as the exemplar

Topic 6 · Forces that touch, and forces that don't · Type 6 · tests FOR3-020

ProposedMediumProposed: Type 6 — which force acts on a thing in the air (adapted from the Force Concept Inventory's thrown-object items; wording and scene ours)

Ziggy throws a ball straight up. While the ball is in the air, nothing touches it. Which force acts on the ball while it is in the air?

1. a) Earth's pull ← key
2. b) Ziggy's push
3. c) the ground's push
4. d) no force at all

Why it is this type: Medium because: two ideas — the hand's push is over once the hand lets go (Topic 5's pusher-and-pushed line), and a force can act with nothing touching (this topic). Nearest lesson-side instance: Lesson 3 (Touching or not touching?) q10–q11 (Aiden's throw, then Earth's pull on the same ball in the air, sorted one at a time); this item asks the pair as one which-force question on a fresh scene. Ziggy appears in no Grade 3 content file (build_tools_names.py, 29 Sep 2026). Bank items vary the thrown thing and the thrower; "the air" is never an option (air as a pusher is a later boundary, blueprint).

The why line (what a student reads after answering): Nothing touches the ball in the air. / Ziggy's push acted on the ball only while her hand touched it. / Earth pulls the ball down without touching it. / So Earth's pull is the force that acts on the ball in the air.

Recommendation: Approve the proposed type

Topic 6 · Forces that touch, and forces that don't · Type 7 · tests FOR3-020

ProposedEasyProposed: Type 7 — the golden set's universal-attribute true / false (pack Q5.1 / M8 form)

True or false: a force has to touch a thing to move it.

1. a) true
2. b) false ← key

Why it is this type: Most pushes and pulls touch. / But Earth's pull, a magnet's pull and a rubbed balloon's pull move things without touching them. / So a force does not have to touch a thing to move it.

Recommendation: Approve the proposed type