On Tuesday this week, we did a fun experiment in Science. You can watch a short video clip below relating this experience:
After this experiment, we talked about what happened when we coated the cubes of jelly with oil: we lost our grip, and this made it very difficult to pick up the jelly with the chopsticks. The oil greatly reduced the amount of friction between the jelly and the chopsticks.
After our discussion we headed to the playground, where the children were asked to think of games or activities where friction is useful to us, as well as games or activities where friction is actually a bit of a hindrance.
Ideas the children put forward were:
– When we play on the monkey bars, we rely on friction between our hands and the bars in order to successfully go across the structure.
– On the other hand, when we use the slide, we try to reduce the amount of friction between our bodies and the slide so that we can experience a fast ride down!
Here are some questions for you to ponder at home with your family: can you think of examples of sports where friction is useful? And can you think of examples of sports where friction must be reduced, so that the sport may be played successfully? Can you think of examples of sports where friction is both useful and a hindrance?
Leave your answer in a comment to this post! 