Contents
Key Stage 2
Meaning
Friction is a force that slows things down when two surfaces are touching each other.
About Friction
- Friction can only happen when two surfaces are touching so it is called a "Contact Force".
- Friction depends on the texture of a surface.
- The rougher a surface is, the more friction an object will experience when it is moving.
- The smoother a surface is, the less friction an object will experience.
- A surface could be described as high friction or low friction.
- Some times a low friction surface is called "slippery".
Experiments
- Shoes
Good shoes are designed to have a high friction surface on the sole. Take off one of your shoes and look at the bottom of your show with a magnifying glass. You might try to answer the following questions: Who has the slipperiest shoes and how do slippery shoes look different from shoes that are not slippery? When shoes get older, how does the bottom of the shoes look different and do shoes get more slippery or less slippery as they get old?
Friction of different surfaces 1. Take a flat piece of wood and attach spring to one end. 2. Pull the piece of wood by the spring along the carpet and measure how long the spring is as you drag it. 3. Repeat this by dragging it along a table and the tarmac outside. 4. Write down which surface made the spring go longest. That is the surface with most friction.