Year 5 science this week has moved on from non-contact forces such as gravity to forces between two moving surfaces – friction! We learnt that friction is caused when two surfaces move over each other, causing them to slow down. An unfortunate side effect is also heat, this is why car parts need replacing so regularly!

So we were real scientists this week and posed a question to investigate – “Which surfaces increase friction?” This prompted some discussion over what we already know so we could formulate a scientifically based prediction. We then planned a test using cars, ramps and a tape measures.  It is important as a scientist to think about what we are measuring, so we made sure we were clear that we were measuring the distance the car travelled to see which surfaces had more friction causing the car to travel the least distance.

After planning a clear results chart to record our measurements, we then set to work.  Have a look at how reciprocal and resourceful we have been with our tests on different surfaces!  We made sure we completed each test 3 times then worked out an average so we could have clear results to compare.

A fantastic afternoon Year 5 resulting in the conclusion that the hall floor has the least friction because the car travelled the furthest, well done everyone!