Friction - Lesson Plan

The lesson plan from The Primary Science Advisory Service Ltd focuses on exploring the concept of friction, a fundamental force in physics. The lesson is designed for Key Stage 2 (KS2) students and begins with an introduction to the science skills involved, including planning investigations, presenting and analysing data, and evaluating investigations. Pupils will engage in various activities to understand friction better, such as observing how different surfaces affect movement and recognising the role of friction in everyday life. The National Curriculum objectives covered in this lesson include comparing movement on different surfaces and understanding the necessity of contact between two objects for friction to occur, except in the case of magnetic forces.

Students will conduct hands-on activities, like rubbing their hands together with and without gloves to feel the heat generated by friction and using force meters to measure the friction produced by different types of footwear on various surfaces. The lesson also includes a practical investigation where pupils use ramps and blocks to observe how different materials affect friction. Throughout the lesson, students are encouraged to think critically about where friction is useful, such as in braking systems, and where it can be a hindrance, like on icy roads. The lesson aims to correct common misconceptions regarding friction, emphasising that it is not only solids that produce friction but liquids and gases too, and that lubricants reduce rather than eliminate friction. By the end of the lesson, students should be able to articulate how friction is caused, its effects on the speed of objects, and give examples of its usefulness and drawbacks in different contexts.