Which term is the use of force against another person resulting in harmful or offensive contact?

• A. Battery
• B. Rape
• C. Assault
• D. Stranger rape

Answer: (A)

The idea being tested is the distinction between actual physical contact and only the threat of harm. Battery is the act of unlawful, harmful or offensive contact caused by force against another person. The description given—use of force that results in contact that is harmful or offensive—fits battery exactly because it requires that contact actually occur.

Assault, on the other hand, centers on the threat or attempt to cause such contact or on causing fear of imminent harm, and does not require that actual contact take place. Rape and Stranger rape involve sexual acts or coercion, which are different crimes with their own elements beyond mere harmful contact. So the term that matches the description is battery.