What+is+friction?+Part+1

What is Friction? By Emily G. 2011 Friction is the rubbing of two objects together. It is a force that resists motion.

Some things about friction:

Gravity and Friction are the two most common forces used in people’s life.Usually friction pushes the opposite way that you want it to.

It decreases the contact between the surface and the object. The rougher the surface, the more friction. For example, rubbing two sandpaper blocks is going to produce more friction than rubbing two smooth blocks together.

What does friction do?

Friction wastes energy, wears down your shoes, and tires on your car, and wears down machines. Though friction does do many things that we don’t appreciate, it would be hard to live without it. Friction makes us walk, play a violin, and, to pick up a glass. As much as friction helps us, most people that own businesses don’t like it. They don’t like it because it wears down there machines. It wears them down by rubbing on them.

What is a lubricant?

To fix the wearing down of the machines and other things, they put a substance on the machines called lubricants. A lubricant is a slippery substance. It is usually just like oil.AltThe lubricant decreases the contact between the surface and the object.Though the lubricant helps, it doesn’t make it 100% working. The friction is still there, there is just less.

What are some examples of friction?

-Rubbing two blocks together -A car driving with the wheels rubbing against the road. -A soccer ball rolling after being kicked -A balloon rubbing against your hair. -Skateboarding

Why are these examples of friction?

These result in friction because they are all rubbing against another object, creating friction. Whether it’s a lot or not, it’s still friction. An example of how friction works is when a car’s tires are rubbing against the road. That produces friction. A good example is when a race car’s tires have been on the road a lot, the friction, and heat wears down the tires. It wares the tires down until they don’t work any longer. The friction wore down the tires however the heat melted them to the point where it wouldn’t be safe to use them.

Vocabulary:

Lubricant- A slippery substance used to make the surface slick, usually oil. Friction- Friction is the rubbing of two objects together. It is a force that resists motion. Resist- to push away something (to not want it near you).

Citations:

Britannica Encyclopedia School Edition, Friction, September 15, 2011

McGrath, Kimberly A. The gale encyclopedia of science. second edition. Europe- Lampreys, Detroit : The Gale group, 2001. Print.

McGrath, Kimberly A. World of Physics. Detroit, MI: 2001. Print.