🧪 Experiments with Friction
🎯 Objective
Slide or roll different objects over a smooth surface to explore the concept of friction — the force that resists movement when two things rub together.
🧩 Materials
- 🧊 An ice cube (melted a bit)
- 🧱 A square block
- ⚽ An item that can roll (ball, toy car, etc.)
- 🪵 Something rough like a scouring pad or sandpaper wrapped around a sanding block
- 🪞 A smooth surface (table or desk)
- 📝Data Sheet
🧠 Preliminary Instructions
As you test each item, answer and record the results for these questions:
- Does the item slide or roll?
- Is it easy or hard to slide or roll the item?
🔬 Procedure
- Find a flat, smooth surface such as a table or desk.
- Slide or roll each of the following items across the surface:
- Sanding block or scouring pad
- Square block
- Ball, car, or other rolling toy
- Melting ice cube
- Observe how each move and record your answers onto data sheet.
💡 Conclusions
- Which two items have the most friction (harder to move)?
- Which two items have the least friction (easier to move)?
