Science // Forces & Motion

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)

Ages
7 to 8
Type
Concept
Builds on
2 topics
Leads to
3 topics
Standards
1 code

Quick check

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

Ask this to see whether the topic is secure.

Topic // Mastery

What mastery looks like

What a learner can do once this topic is secure.
  • Define contact forces as those needing objects to touch (e.g. push, pull, friction)
  • Define non-contact forces as those acting at a distance (e.g. magnetism)
  • Sort examples of forces into contact and non-contact categories

Topic // Map

Where this fits

What to learn first and what this topic opens up, with the reason for each link. Required links come first.
  • RequiredMust come first
  • HelpfulHelps, but not essential

Before this

2 topics
  • Forces VocabularyRequired

    Forces & Motion // Ages 5 to 8

    Distinguishing contact from non-contact forces requires these exact terms

  • Friction & SurfacesRequired

    Forces & Motion // Ages 7 to 8

    Must experience contact forces like friction before distinguishing contact vs non-contact forces

You are here

Contact & Non-Contact Forces

Ages 7 to 8 // Concept

Leads to

3 topics
  • Magnetic MaterialsRequired

    Forces & Motion // Ages 7 to 8

    Must know about non-contact forces before investigating magnetic attraction/repulsion

  • Gravity & Falling ObjectsRequired

    Forces & Motion // Ages 9 to 11

    Must know about non-contact forces before learning gravity as a non-contact force

  • Resultant ForcesRequired

    Forces & Motion // Ages 11 to 12

    KS3 resultant force and balanced forces extends KS2 distinction between contact and non-contact forces

Topic // Research-informed

Teaching notes

From the Marble Skill Taxonomy. These notes have not been validated in classrooms, so treat them as a starting point for your own judgement.

The approach

For 7–8 year olds, build the contact vs non-contact force distinction from first-hand experience. A force is a push or pull arising from an interaction between two objects. Contact forces (pushes and pulls made by touching, such as a hand pushing a door, plus friction, air resistance and upthrust) act only when objects touch; non-contact forces (magnetism, gravity, static electricity) act across a gap. Magnetism is the most child-manageable tactile example of action at a distance. The central hurdle is children expecting a force to need contact ('how can the Earth pull a ball it isn't touching?'); treat action-at-a-distance as genuinely remarkable, not obvious. Keep magnetic, gravitational and electrostatic forces separate while noting they share 'act at a distance' behaviour. At this age avoid newton-meters, field language and iron filings.

Common misconceptions

  • Forces must require contact — non-contact action feels impossible ('how can the Earth pull a ball it isn't touching?'); this is the core hurdle
  • Gravity is caused by magnetism / the Earth is a giant magnet — both act at a distance and are felt at the surface, so children conflate them. Discriminators: gravity ALWAYS attracts and acts on anything with mass; magnetism attracts AND repels and acts only on specific materials (iron, steel, nickel, cobalt)
  • Non-contact forces 'need air' to travel through — that magnets or gravity would stop working in a vacuum (false; no medium is required)
  • All metals are magnetic (transfer of 'metal = special' from electricity work)
  • A force is a property an object 'has' rather than an interaction between two objects

Useful representations

  • Two-object interaction picture with an arrow from A to B: 'what is pushing or pulling what?'
  • Contact / non-contact sorting mat with an explicit 'do they touch?' gap test
  • Magnet-and-paperclip 'across the gap' demonstration
  • Force-word badges (contact vs non-contact) anchored on a familiar scene

Teaching practices

  • Give first-hand, tactile experience of a non-contact force with real magnets — feel the push/pull across an empty gap before any abstraction
  • Sort everyday forces into contact / non-contact and surface the rule that distinguishes them: 'do the two objects have to be touching?'
  • Keep magnetic, gravitational (and electrostatic) forces SEPARATE while noting they share 'act at a distance' behaviour — do not conflate their terminology or representations
  • Do NOT present action-at-a-distance as obvious; if pupils think it is obvious they are missing the point — honour the strangeness
  • Use predict-then-test (will the magnet still attract through the table? through a gap?) and discuss the reasoning afterwards
  • At this age avoid newton-meters, magnetic-field language and iron filings — keep it exploratory and hands-on

Activities to try

  1. 1

    Feel and see the pull across an empty gap

    Why it works: Some forces (magnetism, and the Earth pulling a ball) act across empty space, while contact forces only act when two objects touch; the pull does not need air in the gap to work.

    1. Hold a real magnet and a paperclip in your hands and slowly bring them together until you feel the pull before they touch — describe the pull in your own words.
    2. On a drag-and-release scene, move a magnet slowly toward a paperclip across an empty gap and watch a pull-arrow appear on the paperclip, pointing toward the magnet, before they touch, thickening as the gap narrows.
    3. Repeat the same drag with two wooden blocks and notice that NO arrow appears until the blocks actually meet.
    4. Say aloud which force reached across the empty space and which only acted on contact, and name a real-world parallel (the Earth pulling a dropped ball).
    5. Toggle a 'remove the air' control and observe that the magnet's pull is unchanged.
  2. 2

    Predict-then-test: what gets through the gap?

    Why it works: A non-contact force acts across a genuine gap and does not require air as a go-between; the magnet acts only on specific magnetic materials (such as iron, most steels, nickel and cobalt), which is why a magnetic steel tray interacts with the magnet while non-magnetic paper does not.

    1. Set a paperclip a small gap from a magnet and predict whether the pull still works when you slip a sheet of paper into the gap, and explain WHY.
    2. Test it, then predict and test again with a steel baking tray slipped into the gap.
    3. Discuss afterwards: did paper stop the pull? What did the steel tray do? What does that tell you about what the force needs to travel through and what materials it acts on?
    4. Predict what would happen if the magnet and paperclip sat in a jar with all the air sucked out.
  3. 3

    Distinguish gravity from magnetism

    Why it works: Gravity and magnetism both act at a distance but are different forces: gravity ALWAYS attracts and acts on anything with mass; magnetism attracts AND repels (repelling happens between two magnets) and acts only on specific materials (such as iron, most steels, nickel and cobalt).

    1. Compare: does the magnet pull an aluminium can the way it pulls a steel paperclip? Try it and say why the difference matters.
    2. State one way gravity and magnetism are alike (for example, both act across a distance without the objects touching) and two ways they differ.
    3. Decide, for a worked example, whether gravity or magnetism is acting: a dropped ball; a magnet picking up a steel pin; a magnet pushing away another magnet.

Topic // Standards

Curriculum standards

Codes for the curriculum statements this topic maps to. Each publisher owns its standard text.
The national curriculum in England: Key stages 1 and 2 framework document
Y3.Sci.FM.2

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