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11th grade Balanced forces, equilibrium and inertia worksheet

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Balanced forces, equilibrium and inertia

Grade 11 Science Worksheet - Challenge Me

NameDate

Circle the best answer, or write your answer on the line.

  1. Ari hauls a 20 kg crate up a 30° ramp at constant velocity with a rope parallel to the ramp. Sliding friction is 25 N. What is the rope's tension, to 0.1 N?

  2. Bo hauls a 12 kg crate up a 25° ramp at constant velocity with a rope parallel to the ramp. Sliding friction is 18 N. What is the rope's tension, to 0.1 N?

  3. Esme hauls a 50 kg crate up a 37° ramp at constant velocity with a rope parallel to the ramp. Sliding friction is 60 N. What is the rope's tension, to 0.1 N?

  4. The block is just about to slide. Using the diagram, what is the least coefficient of static friction, Jun?

    • About 0.75
    • About 0.60
    • About 0.80
    • About 1.33

  5. Milo says a skydiver falling at a steady speed has no forces acting. Agree or disagree?

    • Disagree: gravity acts alone, so the diver speeds up
    • Agree: drag appears when the diver speeds up
    • Disagree: drag and weight both act, and they cancel
    • Agree: a steady speed means that no force acts on the diver

  6. Noah says a block sliding down a ramp at a steady speed must have no friction. Agree or disagree?

    • Disagree: friction is larger than gravity's part, so the block slows
    • Agree: a steady speed means no friction acts on the sliding block
    • Disagree: friction up the ramp balances the weight's part down it
    • Agree: sliding means gravity's part beats friction on the block

  7. A 2,000 kg truck and 1,000 kg car go equally fast. Pia says the same braking force stops both in the same distance. Agree or disagree?

    • Disagree: the car needs twice the distance, since it is lighter
    • Disagree: the truck has twice the inertia and needs twice the distance
    • Agree: braking force depends on speed, not on mass
    • Agree: they start at the same speed, so both stop in the same distance

  9. A ball hangs from a train ceiling as the train speeds up, and the string tilts. Seen from the ground, what supplies the ball's forward acceleration, Ren?

    • The horizontal part of the string's tension
    • Its own inertia pushing it forward as the train speeds up
    • A forward force carried over from the train's motion
    • The horizontal part of its weight, pointing toward the front

  10. The string stays 30° from the vertical while the train speeds up. What is the train's acceleration, Tala?

    Use the picture in question 8.

    • About 5.7 m/s²
    • About 4.9 m/s²
    • About 17 m/s²
    • About 8.5 m/s²

  11. In a jet cruising at a steady 250 m/s, Zee drops a coin. Where does it land compared with the feet?

    • Ahead of the feet, since the jet's speed adds to the coin's fall
    • Behind the feet, since the air in the cabin holds it back
    • At the feet, since it keeps the jet's forward velocity
    • Several meters behind the feet, since the jet moves on
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11th grade Balanced forces, equilibrium and inertia worksheet – printable
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About this worksheet

Balanced forces, equilibrium and inertia. Every version has 10 questions, and the answer key prints on the second page.

What your child will learn

  • I can say that equilibrium means zero net force, at rest or at constant velocity. I can tell when an object is not in equilibrium, such as a ball at the top of its flight.
  • I can find the force that balances others along a line or at right angles.
  • I can balance a block on a ramp: friction = mg sin θ and normal force = mg cos θ.
  • I can explain inertia as a property of mass, not a force and not a matter of speed. I can predict what objects do when their support stops or vanishes: a block on a stopping cart, a coin on a flicked card, a satellite without gravity.

Standard: supports HS-PS2-1

Words to know

equilibrium: Zero net force: at rest or moving steadily in a straight line

inertia: How hard an object is to speed up, slow or turn; set by mass

balanced forces: Forces whose arrows add to zero

ramp angle θ: The tilt of a ramp above level

constant velocity: Same speed in the same direction

Common mistakes

Your child set the normal force equal to the weight. The surface pushes back just enough to balance every force along that line, so a push, a pull or a tilt changes it.

Your child subtracted a downward press from the weight. A press pushes down just as weight does, so both are balanced by the surface.

Your child used cosine where sine belongs. With the angle measured from the horizontal, the cable's upward part is T sin θ.

Questions parents ask

What is the most common mistake with balanced forces, equilibrium and inertia?

Your child set the normal force equal to the weight. The surface pushes back just enough to balance every force along that line, so a push, a pull or a tilt changes it.

Are these 11th grade science worksheets free to print?

Yes. All 6 printable versions at each level are free to print, with the answer key, and no account is needed.

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