Alpha science classroom：Phone Book Friction

When you fall, your body would hurt when playing. It is caused by friction. What is friction? Now Phone Book Friction kids science experiments Activity from the Alpha science classroom will explain it with two books easily. Kids can learn physical science experiment knowledge through this activity and enjoy it.

Alpha science classroom：Phone Book Friction materials

Two equal-size books (does not have to be a phone book) or two thick magazines, notepads, or tablets of sticky notes

Alpha Science Classroom: Phone Book Friction Program

first step:

First, children open the two books and overlap their back covers at least halfway.

The second step:

 children interleaved the pages of the two books page by page by folding a page of the left book instead of a page of the right book and then folding a page of the left book. Continue to alternate about a dozen pages in this way.

third step:

children are now trying to open the book. How easy is it to take the book apart? can you do it? What if you only hold one of the books and hang it vertically-can they support their own weight?

Start over and insert more pages than the first time.

Repeat the test process, try different tests, and see if you can take the book apart. If books are hung vertically, can they bear their own weight? Can you "tug of war" with another friend to pull them away?

Continue testing after staggering more and more pages until you can no longer separate the book. Are you surprised by the power books can support? How many pages must you interleave before you can no longer separate them?

To separate the books, you may need to fold back one page at a time. You can also try to bend the two books relative to each other, which will cause the pages at one end of the stack to start to separate.

Alpha Science Classroom: Phone Book Friction Observations and Results

The alpha science classroom believes that children should have discovered that when there are only a few pages interlaced, it is easy to separate the books. However, as children interlace more and more pages, separating them quickly becomes extremely difficult—until soon, you won’t be able to separate them at all! Although the classic demo of this project uses a large phone book, it can handle even smaller volumes, including memo pads. Based on what you read in the background section, can you figure out why this happens?

Children know that the coefficient of friction will not change because the surface remains the same material (paper). It turns out that when you try to pull the two books apart, the interleaved pages will squeeze closer together-this will increase the normal force between them, thereby increasing the overall friction. This means that the harder you pull and the greater the friction, the harder the page will be pulled apart!

Isn’t easy to do this kid's science experiments? It is very difficult to separate these two books because of friction. Alpha science classroom show this physical science experiments activity to kids to explain the friction. So take care when kids play and run, otherwise, the friction would show how bad it is.

If you want to know more about physical science experiments, come to Alpha science toys. There are many amazing and interesting physical science experiment kits. Kids can explore physical science to be the best physicists.