Balanced and Unbalanced Forces

Balanced and Unbalanced Forces Worksheet (Grade 6 Science, TEKS 6.7B)

Help grade 6 students decide if forces are balanced or unbalanced. This one-page sheet compares a tug-of-war tie with a tug-of-war win, then explains that balanced forces have a net force of 0 N and do not change motion, while unbalanced forces make an object start, speed up, slow down, or change direction.

What's Inside

• A Big Question box: "How can we tell if forces are balanced or unbalanced?"
• Two tug-of-war force diagrams, one balanced and one unbalanced, with a short reading
• Activity 1: Students find the net force for a book on a table, a stuck car, a falling parachute, and a couch, and write B or U
• Activity 2: Students circle what happens to a tug-of-war rope and a rocket
• A visual answer key with answers marked in red

How Teachers Use It

Use it after the net force lesson, before a motion lab, or as practice for TEKS 6.7B. The sheet takes about 10 minutes, uses whole numbers only, and prints clearly in black and white.

This worksheet is part of the Reading in Science series for grade 6. It supports TEKS 6.7B: calculate the net force on an object in a horizontal or vertical direction using diagrams and determine if the forces are balanced or unbalanced. It is one of three connected TEKS 6.7B sheets that build four skills in order: read a force diagram, calculate net force, and identify balanced and unbalanced forces.

Why It Works

Each sheet opens with a Big Question that frames the lesson, teaches the key terms in plain words, and then asks students to use only what the page taught. Diagrams use whole numbers in newtons, and the visual answer key lets teachers check work fast.