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11th grade Weight, mass and the normal force worksheet

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Weight, mass and the normal force

Grade 11 Science Worksheet - Challenge Me

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

  1. A 5 kg box on a scale in an elevator reads 54 N. With g = 9.8 m/s² and up positive, what is the elevator's acceleration, Ari?

  2. A 6 kg box on a scale in an elevator reads 52.8 N. With g = 9.8 m/s² and up positive, what is the elevator's acceleration, Bo?

  3. Read this first

    Scale readings for a 5 kg box during an elevator ride (example data)

    part of the ridescale reading (N)
    starting upward59
    rising at a steady speed49
    slowing near the top44

  4. In the ride table, what is the acceleration while slowing near the top, Kira?

    • 1 m/s² upward
    • 0 m/s²
    • 1 m/s² downward
    • 8.8 m/s² upward

  5. In the ride table, during which part is the elevator not accelerating, Luz?

    • Rising at a steady speed
    • Slowing near the top
    • The starting and slowing parts
    • Starting upward

  6. Milo says a 5 kg box loses mass when it is taken to the Moon. Agree or disagree?

    • Disagree: only its weight changes
    • Agree: moving there changes the reading for good
    • Agree: the normal force equals the weight anyway
    • Agree: lower g means less mass

  7. Noah says a scale in an elevator reads more whenever the elevator is moving up. Agree or disagree?

    • Agree: normal force is always the weight
    • Agree: the box gains mass going up
    • Agree: moving up adds to the reading
    • Disagree: only upward acceleration raises it

  8. Pia says the normal force on a box can differ from its weight. Agree or disagree?

    • Agree: on a ramp it is mg cos θ
    • Disagree: motion is what changes it
    • Disagree: a surface pushes back with the full weight
    • Disagree: mass and weight are the same thing

  9. A drone lifts a 3 kg box, accelerating it upward at 1 m/s². With g = 9.8 m/s², what is the cable's pull, Ren?

    • 29.4 N
    • 32.4 N
    • 26.4 N
    • 3 N

  10. A 2 kg mass hangs from a spring scale in an elevator accelerating downward at 1.8 m/s². What does the scale read, Tala?

    • 1.8 N
    • 19.6 N
    • 23.2 N
    • 16 N

  11. A spring scale and a balance both measure a 1 kg mass on the Moon. Which one shows a different result than on Earth, Zee?

    • Neither changes
    • Both change the same way
    • The spring scale, which measures weight
    • The balance, which compares masses
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11th grade Weight, mass and the normal force worksheet – printable
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About this worksheet

Weight, mass and the normal force. Every version has 10 questions, and the answer key prints on the second page.

What your child will learn

  • I can find weight with W = mg. I know mass (kg) stays the same everywhere while weight (N) changes with g: the Moon's g is 1.62 m/s² and Mars's about 3.69 m/s² (NASA).
  • I can explain that a scale reads the normal force. At rest or at a steady speed it equals the weight; with acceleration it is N = m(g + a), with up positive.
  • I can work backward from a scale reading to the elevator's acceleration (a = N ÷ m − g).
  • I can find normal forces that are not the weight: stacked loads, and ramps (mg cos θ).

Standard: HS-PS2-1

Words to know

mass: Amount of matter, in kilograms; the same everywhere

weight: Gravity's pull on an object: W = mg, in newtons

normal force: A surface's push straight out from itself

scale reading: The normal force the scale pushes with

apparent weight: What a scale reads when it is accelerating

Common mistakes

Your child used 10 for g. With g = 9.8 m/s² given, use 9.8; 10 is a rough estimate.

Your child used the weight as the scale reading. When the elevator accelerates, the scale must also supply m × a, so the reading changes.

Your child got the direction of the acceleration backward. With up positive, accelerating upward makes the scale read more.

Questions parents ask

What is the most common mistake with weight, mass and the normal force?

Your child used 10 for g. With g = 9.8 m/s² given, use 9.8; 10 is a rough estimate.

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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