Learning Map
ScienceForces & Motionusually ages 7–8

Contact & Non-Contact Forces

Notice that some forces need contact between two objects (contact forces) while magnetic forces can act at a distance (non-contact forces)

How to tell they’ve got it

Tick these off as you see them — no test required.

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Try this together

Can your child explain why you have to touch a ball to kick it, but a magnet can pull a paperclip without touching it?

Where this sits on the map

Stuck here? Check the skills it builds on first. Confident? Here’s what it unlocks.

Builds on
Forces Vocabularyages 5–8Distinguishing contact from non-contact forces requires these exact terms
Friction & Surfacesages 7–8Must experience contact forces like friction before distinguishing contact vs non-contact forces
Drawing Force Diagramsages 7–12Distinguishing contact and non-contact forces is clarified by drawing force diagrams showing where arrows originate
Contact & Non-Contact Forcesthis skill · ages 7–8
Unlocks
Magnetic Materialsages 7–8Must know about non-contact forces before investigating magnetic attraction/repulsion
Gravity & Falling Objectsages 9–11Must know about non-contact forces before learning gravity as a non-contact force
Resultant Forcesages 11–12KS3 resultant force and balanced forces extends KS2 distinction between contact and non-contact forces

solid = must come firstdashed = helps

Curriculum alignment

Candidate matches to official curriculum codes — machine-suggested, unreviewed (v0.1).

Show candidate curriculum codes · 1 ACARA · 1 VIC

Australian Curriculum v9 candidate

AC9S4U03medium confidenceYear 4 · Science understanding

identify how forces can be exerted by one object on another and investigate the effect of frictional, gravitational and magnetic forces on the motion of objects

Victorian Curriculum 2.0 codes & levels only

VC2S4U10medium confidenceScience · Levels 3 and 4 · Science Understanding strand

These are candidate alignments generated by semantic matching — machine-suggested and unreviewed (v0.1), not official or verified mappings. For official curriculum content see australiancurriculum.edu.au, curriculum.nsw.edu.au and f10.vcaa.vic.edu.au. Don’t rely on them for registration or compliance purposes.

Nearby on the map

All Forces & Motion skills →