TOPIC: Principles of Flight: Newton's First Law of Motion
LEVEL: Beginner

"What is Friction?"

[information | preparation | activity ]
CONCEPT:

Newton's First Law of Motion: objects at rest remain at rest and objects in motion remain in motion unless acted upon by an outside force.

STUDENT OBJECTIVE:

The student will discover that friction is an outside force that happens when two things rub together.

OVERVIEW:

The student will use their hands to discover friction.

TEACHER TEXT:

PREPARATION TIME: 5 minutes

LESSON TIME: 5 minutes

TEACHER PREP:

None

WORDS TO KNOW:

MATERIALS NEEDED:

STEPS TO FOLLOW:

1. Put your palms together.

2. Rub your palms back and forth several times.

3. What happens? (Your palms feel hot after rubbing them together.)

WHY?

Friction is the force that occurs when two things rub together. In this case rubbing your palms together caused friction that produced heat. Friction is the force that tends to stop things sliding past each other. When a plane flies, friction between the air and plane slows it down. This is called air resistance.

ASSESSMENT: Can the student communicate what they observed?

4......Student is able to communicate that his palms were hot due to friction caused by rubbing his palms together.

3......Student is able to communicate that his palms got hot from rubbing them together.

2......Student is able to communicate that his palms got hot.

1......Student is able to communicate that he rubbed his palms together.

EXTENSIONS:

Last modified: Sat Jun 7 11:52:51 PDT 1997

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