Question

1. Explain the variation of friction with an activity.
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Answer 1

Answer:

Someone recently told me about this friction science experiment. We’re huge fans of science activities in our home. I knew I immediately had to try it out and add it to my arsenal of easy science experiments!

As for this friction experiment, I listened to the explanation but had doubts if the “experiment” would work. So, like any good parent and educator, I tested it out. First, by myself and then with my children.

The age range of my children is 5 years so I always have to think about how to approach science activities in age-appropriate ways. Turns out this activity is suited for a preschooler but is also great to add to your bucket of science experiments for 5th graders, too! I like that range!  Also, add it to your list if science fair projects to wow peers and teachers!

I like to do activities by myself first not because I don’t want to fail in front of kids (that is a healthy and great thing for children to observe) but instead because I want to be organized with the materials. I want to be able to have conversations about the concept and the experiment without stumbling for a bag of rice. ;-)

The post includes photos of my sons when we did the experiment. They were joyous, amazed with the result, and had loads of questions and ideas on what to do next with this experiment. This easy friction science experiment definitely ignited their desire to learn more!

1. Materials for Friction Experiment
2. Enough rice to fill a medium-sized plastic bottle
3. Pencil or chopstick
4. Funnel to get rice into the bottle
5. Medium sized plastic or glass bottle
6. A scoop to get rice to the funnel

Steps to Friction Experiment.

1. Bring out the materials and ask the child: “Do you think I can lift a bottle of rice with a chopstick?”
2. Pour rice into a bowl for easy access
3. Place the funnel into the bottle
4. Scoop rice and pour into the funnel (that is already in the opening of the bottle
5. Bang the bottle gently on the table to settle the rice (key point)
6. Continue until mostly full
7. Place the chopstick into the bottle
8. Work it into the rice, gently banging the bottle to get the chopstick worked well into the rice
9. Once worked into the rice, grab the chopstick and try to lift the bottle
10. Observe the wonder

What is Friction?

Friction is a force we experience every day, all day. We can’t see it. So, we tend not to notice it. Friction is the force that opposes the movement of one substance against another. In this case, we had rice and a chopstick.  As the rice sits in the bottle, there are air pockets around most grains, which prevents friction.

Live Science tells us, “It is not a fundamental force, like gravity or electromagnetism. Instead, scientists believe it is the result of the electromagnetic attraction between charged particles in two touching surfaces.”

Explanation:

Answer 2

ANSWER

We can understand sliding friction as the resistance force created between any two bodies when sliding against each other. This friction is also called kinetic friction and it is defined as the force that is required to keep a surface sliding along another surface. It hangs on two variable- one is material or the thing and other is the weight and size of the object. Any variation in the surface area and in contact does not change the sliding friction. In most of the materials, sliding friction is much less than the static friction.