36

Lesson 36 of 84 ยท Forces

Lessonโญ 30 XPโšก Spark Lab

Friction: The Force That Slows (Part 2)

๐ŸงชLab Brief #36

Friction: The Force That Slows (Part 2).

๐ŸŽฏ Your mission

Understand the idea. Then look for it everywhere.

โšก The twist

Speed isn't the same as force. Don't mix them up.

๐Ÿคฏ

Mind = Blown

๐Ÿ”ฅ A bolt of lightning is 5 times hotter than the surface of the sun.

๐Ÿ”ฎ

Make a hypothesis first

Guess: where does the energy go?

What You'll Learn

Friction is a force that opposes motion between surfaces that touch. Rough surfaces create more friction than smooth ones. Without friction, you could not walk or grip objects.

Key Words

  • inertia
  • speed

Steps

Step 1 โ€” Read

Study the diagram and label the parts you recognize.

Step 2 โ€” Do

Set up a pendulum with string and a washer. Change the string length and count swings per minute for each. Graph your results.

Step 3 โ€” Observe

Draw a detailed diagram of what you observe.

Step 4 โ€” Record

Write a conclusion: what did your results show? Did they match your prediction?

Check Your Understanding

Question 1

1 of 3

What does friction do?

๐ŸŒ

Where you see this in real life

This is why airplanes can fly and why rockets reach space.

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Stretch Challenge

Try this in real life this week.

This week, find one thing in your house that turns one kind of energy into another.

๐Ÿ‘จโ€๐Ÿ‘ฉโ€๐Ÿ‘ง

For the dinner table

โ€œShow me something at home that uses this kind of energy.โ€

๐ŸŽฏ

Next Smart Experiment

We'll pick an experiment that matches exactly how you're thinking right now.

๐Ÿ’งShare card

Share this experiment

Send it to a parent who's looking for a 10-minute kitchen science win.

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Checkout complete lesson on Forces for 4th Grade

Get the full Forces track as a printable PDF โ€” all lessons, worksheets, and answer keys.

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