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CBSE · Class 8 · Science

Exploring Forces

Standard difficulty · 20 questions · 40 marks

Name: Date: Score: ____ / 40

Show your working for Sections B and C. Answers are on the last page — try every question first!

Section A — Choose the correct answer8 × 1 = 8 marks
1.
A force is a:
  1. type of matter
  2. measure of time
  3. kind of energy
  4. push or pull
2.
Which force is at work in ring magnets floating on a pencil?
  1. magnetic
  2. buoyant
  3. muscular
  4. friction
3.
Which of these is a NON-CONTACT force?
  1. the force in lifting a school bag
  2. the force in a bullock pulling a cart
  3. the force in brakes stopping a bicycle
  4. the force in a ball thrown up coming back down
4.
A 1 kg mass weighs about 9 N on Venus. About how much does a 2 kg mass weigh there?
  1. 18 N
  2. 2 N
  3. 27 N
  4. 20 N
5.
A student has a mass of 45 kg on the Earth. What is the student's MASS on Mars?
  1. 45 kg
  2. 7.5 kg
  3. 17.1 kg
  4. 450 kg
6.
A spring balance reads from 0 to 20 N and has 10 small divisions for every 1 N. What is its least count?
  1. 2 N
  2. 10 N
  3. 1 N
  4. 0.1 N
7.
A spring balance has 2 divisions for every 1 N. The pointer stops 7 divisions below zero. What force does it show?
  1. 3.5 N
  2. 4.5 N
  3. 7 N
  4. 14 N
8.
Which of these is a CONTACT force?
  1. muscular force
  2. magnetic force
  3. electrostatic force
  4. gravitational force
Section B — Short answer8 × 2 = 16 marks
9.
What is force?
10.
Name the force (gravitational, magnetic, electrostatic, friction or muscular): (a) a ball thrown up coming back down (b) brakes stopping a bicycle
11.
Is it a "contact" or "non-contact" force? (a) a bullock pulling a cart (b) lifting a school bag
12.
Using the book's values (1 kg weighs about 10 N on the Earth and 9 N on Venus), find the weight of a 12 kg box on the Earth and on Venus.
13.
A spring balance has 10 divisions per newton. What is its least count, and what does it read when the pointer is 34 divisions down?
14.
Is friction useful or a nuisance in each, and why? (a) writing with a pencil (b) heat in moving machine parts
15.
A ball rolled down a ramp travels 55 cm on a smooth floor and 43 cm on a carpet. How much farther did it go on the floor? Why?
16.
A person has a mass of 36 kg. What would be their mass on the Moon, and about what would they weigh there (1 kg weighs about 1.6 N on the Moon)?
Section C — Word problems4 × 4 = 16 marks
17.
Explain contact and non-contact forces with two examples each.
18.
A 37 kg rover is sent to Jupiter and another to Venus. (a) What is each rover's mass there? (b) Using the book's table, about how much does each weigh there? (c) Why are mass and weight different?
19.
Name the force in each and say whether it is contact or non-contact: a rolling ball slowing on grass; lifting a school bag; an apple falling from a tree; a rubbed balloon attracting paper bits.
20.
A spring balance with 4 divisions per newton reads 16 divisions for a stone in air and 13 divisions when the stone is in water. (a) What are the two readings in newtons? (b) Why is the reading less in water? (c) How big is the upward force of the water?
AmbifulWorksheets
Practice that never repeats
CBSE · Class 8 · Science

Answer key

Exploring Forces · AW-8S-FOR-2026-V1 · For parents — fold back or tear off before handing the sheet to your child.

QAnswerWorking
1(d) push or pull—
2(a) magnetic—
3(d) the force in a ball thrown up coming back down—
4(a) 18 N2 × 9 = 18
5(a) 45 kgmass does not change from place to place
6(d) 0.1 N1 ÷ 10 = 0.1
7(a) 3.5 N7 ÷ 2 = 3.5
8(a) muscular force—
9A push or a pull that results from two objects interacting.—
10(a) gravitational (b) friction—
11(a) contact (b) contact—
12120 N; 108 N12 × 10; 12 × 9
130.1 N; 3.4 N1 ÷ 10; 34 ÷ 10
14(a) useful (b) harmful—
1512 cm; the carpet gives more friction55 − 43
1636 kg; about 57.6 Nmass stays 36 kg; 36 × 1.6
17Contact forces act only when objects touch: muscular force when we push a box, friction when a rolling ball slows. Non-contact forces act from a distance: gravity pulls a falling apple, a magnet attracts iron, and a charged comb attracts paper bits.—
18(a) 37 kg on both (b) Jupiter: about 939.8 N; Venus: about 333 N (c) Mass is the amount of matter and does not change; weight is the pull of gravity, which differs from place to place.—
19a rolling ball slowing on grass: friction (contact); lifting a school bag: muscular (contact); an apple falling from a tree: gravitational (non-contact); a rubbed balloon attracting paper bits: electrostatic (non-contact).—
20(a) 4 N and 3.25 N (b) The water pushes the stone up (buoyant force). (c) 0.75 N—