Last Friday, whilst 7AH were preparing for the Year 7 Production, 7CT joined together for their Science lesson to investigate how different surfaces affect the friction acting on an object. They were tasked with coming up with their own method for doing this and, after a few minor hiccups along the way, all managed to record their results and complete a write-up for this experiment.
Maeve:
In the practical, my first step was to write the hypothesis and explain what I thought would happen. After that, I wrote the different variables (independent, dependent and control), as well as a list of apparatus and the method. My prediction was that the object (a wooden block) would slide down the laminate the fastest because it seemed like the smoothest surface. At the end of the practical, I found out my hypothesis was incorrect, and instead the wooden block went down the wood the fastest. This did not surprise me too much, as the object and the wood were made of the same material. I also think that it was probably easier for it to slide down because the laminate had a more 'plastic' texture whereas the wood was very flat, smooth and did not have any bumps.
Saida:
On Friday we had a Friction practical. We were using different surfaces to check how much force you need to pull a wooden square on top of different surfaces. We were measuring the force in newtons (N). Before making the experiment, we needed to write down the hypothesis, list of apparatus that we used, our method and draw our diagram.
Whilst I was writing the method, I was thinking that if the surface that I am using is smooth then it will be easier to pull the wooden square and it would need less force than if the surface is rough. However, after I did my experiment, I realized that sometimes even if the surface is smooth, it does not mean that it will need less force, because when I was doing it on a laminate the average of force was 1N which was one of the highest numbers I got. And the smallest average of force that I had was carpet, however I thought it would have the highest score of force because it was rough.
After I completed the table and finished the experiment, we needed to write a conclusion and evaluation, which is when you say what went well and what you can improve, which was the highest score, and which was the least highest score.
It was very fun and hopefully I will be able to do it again at some point.
