friction

[silverlouis]

My son is doing his science fair project on friction. Besides youtube-watching to learn things, wondering where he could go (both on internet and a physical place or an expert person) to learn by watching or asking questions? His initial thought was "how does friction on different surfaces affect a cars movement". He is just starting his research and i was hoping for recommendations of where he could find out more on friction to gain a better understanding on his chosen topic.

[ChiaraB]

Hello,
If your son simply wants to learn more about friction on roads, here are some informative links:
http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/mechanics/frictire.html
http://dsc.discovery.com/tv-shows/mythbusters/about-this-show/rolling-friction-hydroplaning.htm
http://www2.gi.alaska.edu/ScienceForum/ASF8/843.html
It is difficult to recommend a place or a person, but I would suggest that your son ask the science teachers at his school for help.

This topic raises a concern. Science projects involve performing experiments and collecting data based on those experiments. An experiment involving a real car would be very dangerous. Did you have a different idea on how to observe the effects of friction? This very website has many project ideas related to friction if you are interested:
http://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-fair-projects/search.shtml?q=friction%2Binurl%3Aproject_ideas+&sa=Search&limitSearch=%2Binurl%3Aproject_ideas&endYear=+&cof=FORID%3A9&cx=006938645102073751460%3A5g77bgclmby

I hope this is helpful, please write back if you have any more questions.

[theborg]

Additionally, the Effects of Friction on Objects in Motion project at the science buddies link provided above has additional resource listings and links under the background section that includes lots of info on friction. The project itself is an excellent one for a 6th grader.

[silverlouis]

Thank you for the links. Regarding the experiments he was going to use toy cars. Hopefully they will reflect results similar to real car experiments. I appreciate the additional information and wm thankful for this site. Also thanks for noting it was a good project for a 6th grader. I was uncertain if he picked something that might be too involved for his grade level and am glad it is an age appropriate topic. Thank you for being there and answering.

[theborg]

silverlouis,

I'm glad the advice we provided helped. I think a modified version of the experiment using toy cars is interesting and a good idea. Just be sure that if the car wheels leave the ground at any time during a run, that run is invalid and should be redone. Obviously, if the wheels are not in contact with your test surface then there is no friction caused by that surface. Also, if you use a track of some sort, many of them have sides. Try to ensure the only contact you have over the test surface is between the car wheels and the test surface. Any contact with any part of the car on anything other than wheel contact with the test surface will generage additional friction and skew your results.