Yesterday we did an experiment called "Investigating Friction". What we did was to tape one end of a board to an empty surface. Then we put an object at the end of the free end of the board. Our first object was a flat eraser. Then we lifted the board up slowly until the eraser started to move. Then we measured how high the board went. That was a good experiment.

Force
Kayleigh

When we did our science experiment we learned about the forces of different objects. The object’s that we use can slide down at their own speed and rate. Our group had a board with different objects on it, we measured how much centimeters it took for it to slide down. We have done many experiments in science. Every time I do them I learn more and different things that I never even heard of. If we had an eraser and it slid down a board it would have a better grip then a sock. I enjoy science a lot, especially when we do experiments.

Friction
Derek

My favorite exsperiment was the friction one. My group is a good one and we work together to make our experiment work. Most of the time my group is Alexi, Robyn, Lucie, Andrew and me. We do a lot of experiments and they are cool.

More "Type 1" comments by fifth graders

Our group used a car, rock, eraser, button and coin. The board with the eraser was the highest before the eraser moved. That was because it was rubber. I thought if we waxed the board the objects would go quicker. I liked this experiment a lot. ...Aaron

When me and my group did the experiment on friction, it was better than we thought. We learned different objects can show more friction than other objects. A toy car shows less friction because it has wheels to make it move easier. An eraser shows more friction because of its rubbery texture. Friction is a force that slows you down. It is like having something on to you while you try to slide. That's what friction is like. ...Jake G.

We set up a board and taped it to the desk and put objects on top of it and then we lifted the board and measured how high it went until the object slid down. Some of the things slid down a lot faster than others. It was a lot of fun. ... Brenna

When we were investigating friction I worked with Lucie, Alex and Derek. I think this activity was fun because we did not fight and we got a long. We measured in mm (not inches) because that is how you measure in science. ...Robyn

Investigating Friction
Alexi

When my group and I did our investigating friction experiment, we all worked together. We switched on and off measuring and putting the objects on the board that we used.

We learned that the object with the most friction was the eraser. It was rubbery and it gripped the board. We had to slant the board a lot to make the eraser slide down.

We also learned that the object with the least friction was the car. That was because it had wheels that made it roll. We barely had to slant the board at all for it. Some of the objects slid at close to the same heights. It was fun to do.

Friction
Braeden

First my group had to set up the materials needed to do the experiment. Then we took everyday items like erasers, stones, toy cars, coins and buttons. And we measured how much friction they had in the items. Our group, Drew, Kaliegh, Sarina, Courtney and I, had a lot of fun. We gained a lot of experience doing this experiment.

Observing Properties of Matter
Levi

Mrs. Eldridge gave us things out of a bag and we had to observe three properties of our object. My object (a bracelet) was shiny, and it could bend, and it was copper. We had to tell what was useful about it. I said you could wear it, and you could melt it and make other jewelry. And you could carve designs into it and polish it. Observing properties is interesting.
 

(Teacher Note: The "observing properties" activity was presented as a game. It encouraged students to describe the properties of their object--wooden, metal, glass, etc.-- and tell how it could be useful. The activity was suggested on the site http://www.ScienceExplosion.com )

December 2001

More Experiments with Motion:

Force / Motion / Our Science Index Page