Step into Dirtmeister's Science Lab and become a Science Snooper! Work side by side with him as he sets out to answer the challenge question: "How does the force of friction affect us in our daily lives?"

Building upon their understanding of forces and Newton's laws of motion, students learn about the force of friction, specifically with respect to cars. They explore the friction between tires and the road to learn how it affects the...

Students use LEGO MINDSTORMS robotics to help conceptualize and understand the force of friction. Specifically, they observe how different surfaces in contact result in different frictional forces. A LEGO robot is constructed to pull a...

By the end of this section, you will be able to define nonconservative forces and explain how they affect mechanical energy, and to show how the principle of conservation of energy can be applied by treating the conservative forces in...

With a simple demonstration activity, young scholars are introduced to the concept of friction as a force that impedes motion when two surfaces are in contact. Then, in the Associated Activity (Sliding and Stuttering), they work in teams...

Students explore the physics utilized by engineers in designing today's roller coasters, including potential and kinetic energy, friction, and gravity. First, students learn that all true roller coasters are completely driven by the...

By taking a look at the energy of motion all around us, students learn about the types of energy and their characteristics. They first learn about the two simplest forms of mechanical energy: kinetic and potential energy, as illustrated...

You have probably heard the word "force" before in conversations. Here are a few examples: "the rocket had a lot of force at blast off" or "the force of the storm blew the roof off the building." What is force? Force is defined as a push...

Learners observe objects in motion down a ramp to discover how the force of friction affects an object's motion. Includes the lesson plan, vocabulary list, and extensions for students.

In this activity, students' will use a Dual range force sensor to measure the force required to pull a block across different surfaces. They will examine the results to see when more force is needed to move the block and understand the...

Explains what static and kinetic friction are and discusses the coefficient of friction for different situations. Presents two simple lab experiments and real-life examples of friction in action.

Students apply Newton's laws to more diverse physical settings where multiple forces from varying origins interact. To aid in condensing the physical setting into mathematical expressions, the free body diagram is used in this module...

Students learn about various forces and how they relate to everyday life in this interactive learning module.

Students learn about the concept of pushing, as well as the relationship between force and mass. Students practice measurement skills using pan scales and rulers to make predictions about mass and distance. A LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT robot is...

This lesson will introduce the concept of friction and explain how it can affect forces. It is 4 of 5 in the series titled "Friction."

The Thinking Fountain provides this simple experiment for understanding friction and it relationship to energy.

Explore the forces at work when you try to push a filing cabinet. Create an applied force and see the resulting friction force and total force acting on the cabinet. Charts show the forces, position, velocity, and acceleration vs. time.

Explore the forces at work when you try to push a filing cabinet. Create an applied force and see the resulting friction force and total force acting on the cabinet. Charts show the forces, position, velocity, and acceleration vs. time....

Explore the forces at work when pulling against a cart, and pushing a refrigerator, crate, or person. Create an applied force and see how it makes objects move. Change friction and see how it affects the motion of objects.

Forces are everywhere. Learn what they are, the characteristics of forces, different kinds of forces, and factors that affect them.

Explore the forces at work when you try to push a filing cabinet. Create an applied force and see the resulting friction force and total force acting on the cabinet. Charts show the forces, position, velocity, and acceleration vs. time....

See how forces affect various items that are pushed or pulled.

This Science Buddies project explains how to build a mechanism that will reproducibly swing a hammer so you can determine the amount of force needed to hammer a nail through various densities of wood. The Science Buddies project ideas...

This is an article published by the American Physical Society on friction in microscopic gears that results from the adhesion of molecules. A great exploration of this new obstacle in science.