Let’s investigate how different surfaces affect how far a ... © Let’s Cause Some Friction!...
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www.rubytuesdaybooks.com/scienceKS2 © Let’s Cause Some Friction! Friction is a force that is created when two surfaces rub together. The rougher the surface, the more friction is produced. Friction makes it more difficult for things to move and always slows a moving object. Frictional forces can be helpful. For example, the tyres on this car are designed to grip the road so the car doesn’t skid. When curling, a fine sheet of water is added to the ice before play to reduce friction and help the stones slide more easily. Players use brushes in front of the stones to reduce friction further and to help control how far the stones travel. Let’s investigate how different surfaces affect how far a toy car will travel. Let’s cause some friction!
Transcript of Let’s investigate how different surfaces affect how far a ... © Let’s Cause Some Friction!...
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Let’s Cause Some Friction!
Friction is a force that is created when two surfaces rub together. The rougher the surface, the more friction is produced.
Friction makes it more difficult for things to move and always slows a moving object.
Frictional forces can be helpful. For example, the tyres on this car are designed to grip the road so the car doesn’t skid.
When curling, a fine sheet of water is added to the ice before play to reduce friction and help the stones slide more easily. Players use brushes in front of the stones to reduce friction further and to help control how far the stones travel.
Let’s investigate how different surfaces affect how far a toy car will travel.
Let’s cause some friction!
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Equipment: • Plank of wood (about 1 m long)
• A pile of books (to give your ramp height)
• A toy car
• A towel, piece of cardboard, sandpaper and bubble wrap (enough in each case to cover the ramp)
• Sticky tape
• A tape measure
• A stopwatch
If you already have some different-textured ramps in your school science cupboard you could use these instead. If you would like to test another material, go for it! There is a blank
space in the results table for you to include it.
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Method:1. Gather your equipment. Pile up several
books and place your plank of wood (ramp) against them.
Now you are going to investigate how fast and how far the toy car travels when the ramp is covered with different textures. (If your ramp is too steep, you may find it challenging to record your car’s travel time because it will move too fast. A gentler slope is more practical.)
Carefully observe the test materials. Which do you think will create the most/least friction. Record your predictions.
Predictions:I predict that the car will take the longest time to travel down the ramp with __________________ on it. I think this because _____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
I predict that the car will take the shortest time to travel down the ramp with the __________________ on it. I think this because ______________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
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I predict that the ramp covered with __________________ will cause the car to travel furthest beyond the ramp. I think this because ______________________________________________ _____________________________________________________
I predict that the ramp covered with __________________ will cause the car to travel the shortest distance beyond the ramp. I think this because ______________________________________ _____________________________________________________
2. Once you have decided on the height of your ramp, cover it with your first test material and if needed use sticky tape on the underside of the ramp to hold the material securely in place.
3. With a partner, decide who will record the time it takes the car to travel down the ramp and who will be in control of the car.
4. Release your toy car from the top of the ramp and using a stopwatch record how long it takes to reach the bottom of the ramp.
5. Let the car travel off of the ramp. When it has finished moving use your tape measure to record how far it travelled beyond the end of the ramp. Record the travelling time and distance travelled beyond the ramp in your results table.
6. Repeat twice more with the same test material and record the results.
7. Remove your testing material from the ramp and attach another.
8. Repeat the same test three times for each test material and record results.
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Res
ult
s:M
ate
ria
l on
ra
mp
Tim
e ta
ken
to
tra
vel d
own
th
e ra
mp
(se
con
ds)
Dis
tan
ce t
rave
lled
bey
on
d t
he
end
of
the
ram
p (
cm)
Tow
el
Car
dboa
rd
Sand
pape
r
Bubb
le w
rap
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Ma
teri
al o
n r
am
pA
vera
ge
(mea
n)
tim
e th
e ca
r to
ok
to t
rave
l dow
n
the
ram
p (
seco
nd
s)A
vera
ge
(mea
n)
dis
tan
ce t
rave
lled
bey
on
d t
he
end
of
th
e ra
mp
(cm
)To
wel
Car
dboa
rd
Sand
pape
r
Bubb
le w
rap
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Conclusion:Which material created the most friction? _____________________________________________________
Which material created the least friction? _____________________________________________________
What else do your results show? _____________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________
Did your predictions match your results? _____________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________
Do you have any additional questions about friction? How could you investigate this further? _____________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________
