Calculating Net Force

Calculating Net Force Worksheet (Grade 6 Science, TEKS 6.7B)

Teach grade 6 students to calculate net force with two simple rules. This one-page reading and activity sheet uses real scenes students know: two friends pushing a wagon (add), a tug-of-war (subtract), and a model rocket with engine force and gravity (up and down). Every force in every diagram has a name.

What's Inside

• A Big Question box: "How do we calculate net force?"
• Three worked examples with labeled force diagrams: a wagon, a tug-of-war rope, and a model rocket
• Activity 1: For four real scenes (a dog sled, a crate with friction, a tug-of-war, and a kite), students circle add or subtract, write the net force, and circle its direction
• Activity 2: Two true or false sentences that check common net force mistakes
• A visual answer key with answers marked in red

How Teachers Use It

Use it after a lesson on force diagrams, with a tug-of-war demo, 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.