Activity
Introducing Friction
A hands-on activity to introduce students who are blind and visually impaired to friction.
A hands-on activity to introduce students who are blind and visually impaired to friction.
Materials
- wooden spools
- 18 inch wooden board
- ruler
- various small objects made from a variety of materials (rubber, wood, plastic, metal, etc.)
Procedure
Part I: Review Force and introduce Friction
- Force is a push or a pull.
- Demonstrate and ask students to imitate pushing their hands together.
- Demonstrate and ask students to imitate pulling their hands apart.
- Friction is a force caused when two objects push or rub against each other.
- Friction is the force that slows thing down.
- Demonstrate and ask students to rub their hands together.
- Ask “What do you notice?” Their hands get warmer.
- Friction always gives off some heat.
- Explore friction with wooden spools and sand
- Push and pull a spool through sand, standing up and on its side.
- The sand makes it harder to move the spool because it rubs against the spool and creates “friction.”
Part II Measuring friction:
- Spool on a ramp standing up
- Place the spool, standing up at the end of an 18 inch wooden board.
- Slowly lift the board until the spool moves.
- Observe and/or measure the height of the board when the spool moved.
- Spool on a ramp on its side
- Place the spool, on its side at the end of an 18 inch wooden board.
- Slowly lift the board until the spool moves.
- Observe and/or measure the height of the board when the spool moved.
- Objects on a ramp
- Place each object one at a time on the end of the board and slowly lift the board.
- Observe and/or measure the height of the board when the object moves.
Variations
Use a larger board.
NGSS Standards
K-PS2-2 Motion and Stability: Forces and Interactions
- Analyze data to determine if a design solution works as intended to change the speed or direction of an object with a push or a pull.
By Selma Walsh
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