Success TutoringWorksheets

How Things Move: Rolling, Sliding and Spinning — Answers

Answer sheet with model answers and success criteria for the Year 3 forces & motion worksheet.

Download answers PDFPrint answersBack to worksheet
Success TutoringWorksheetsAnswer sheetYear 3 · Science · Forces & Motion

How Things Move: Rolling, Sliding and Spinning — Answers

Part A: Ways things move

Read the box. Then circle the best answer.

Things can move in different ways. They can roll, slide, spin or bounce.

Round things, like balls and wheels, roll. Things with flat sides, like books and boxes, slide.

A spinning top spins around and around. A ball can bounce up and down.

Something needs a push or a pull to start moving.

1.Which object rolls best?
  1. Aa book
  2. Ba ball
  3. Ca box
  4. Da brick

Answer: a ball

A ball is round, so it rolls easily.

2.A book is pushed across a smooth table. How does it move?
  1. Ait rolls
  2. Bit slides
  3. Cit bounces
  4. Dit spins

Answer: it slides

A book has flat sides, so it slides along the table.

3.Which toy is made to spin?
  1. Aa spinning top
  2. Ba teddy bear
  3. Ca kite
  4. Da doll

Answer: a spinning top

A spinning top turns around and around on one spot.

4.Why does a wheel roll?
  1. AIt is heavy.
  2. BIt is round.
  3. CIt is flat.
  4. DIt is soft.

Answer: It is round.

Round shapes roll. Flat shapes slide.

Part B: Match and fill

5.Match each object to how it moves best.
  • a marble
  • a box
  • a coin flicked on its edge
  • a rubber ball dropped on the floor
  • spins
  • bounces
  • rolls
  • slides

Answer: a marble → rolls; a box → slides; a coin flicked on its edge → spins; a rubber ball dropped on the floor → bounces

6.Balls and wheels roll because they are (answer space).

Answer: round

Part C: True or false?

Write True or False.

7.A box rolls better than a ball.

Answer: False

A box has flat sides, so it slides. A round ball rolls better.

8.A toy car moves because its wheels roll.

Answer: True

The round wheels roll, so the car moves easily.

Part D: Working scientifically: roll or slide?

Try it with a grown-up. Then check your predictions.

Make a ramp with a book and a tray. Try an empty can on its side and then standing on its flat end.

9.Predict: will a can roll or slide down a ramp if it lies on its side?

Answer: It will roll, because its curved side is round.

10.Predict: will the can roll or slide if it stands on its flat end?

Answer: It will slide (or stay still if the ramp is not steep), because the flat end cannot roll.

Free worksheets at worksheets.successtutoring.com · © Success Tutoring · Free for personal and classroom use

Marking tips

  • Give credit for correct method even when the final answer slips — the working shows where the thinking went right.
  • For open-ended tasks, use the success criteria as a checklist rather than looking for one "right" answer.
  • Celebrate what went well first, then pick one thing to work on next.

Great work. Here's what to try next: