We’re big fans of Science in Ms Cregan’s 3rd class so for the month of March we explored the force of friction. Friction is a force we experience every day, all day. We can’t see it. So, we tend not to notice it.

Friction is a force between two surfaces that are sliding, or trying to slide across one another, for example when you try to push a toy car along the floor.

 

The children worked to construct a marble maze using a range of different materials such as cotton wool, gravel, cloth and even dry glue! Their target was to create a maze that would slow the marble down as much as possible. We knew that rougher surfaces would create more friction with the marble as it is a smooth object made of glass.

Each group planned their maze  together, discussing layout and design. They then drew a blueprint before starting construction.

When all mazes were completed we had 3 test runs which we timed. Some of the groups made changes to their maze after the test runs when they noticed that certain materials did not have enough friction with the marble.

 

After some adjustments and alterations, the children then completed a final marble run using a timer. All groups did a fantastic job making such creative and unusual mazes!

 

Why not try this fun experiment at home to see how friction works in other ways!

 

www.carrotsareorange.com/easy-science-experiments–friction/