Good Science Victorian Curriculum Year 7
Digital sample of Matilda's newest publication, Good Science Victorian Curriculum Year, authored by Emma Craven and Aaron Elias. For more information visit www.matildaeducation.com.au or email Katrina Tucker, katrinatucker@matildaed.com.au
Digital sample of Matilda's newest publication, Good Science Victorian Curriculum Year, authored by Emma Craven and Aaron Elias. For more information visit www.matildaeducation.com.au or email Katrina Tucker, katrinatucker@matildaed.com.au
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INVESTIGATIONS<br />
Investigation 8.5<br />
Friction of materials<br />
KEY SKILL<br />
EXPLAINING RESULTS USING<br />
SCIENTIFIC KNOWLEDGE<br />
When you write a formal investigation report there is<br />
always a discussion section that includes your analysis<br />
and explanation of the data you collected. This is where<br />
you get to explain your results by linking them to what<br />
you already knew about the science of what you are<br />
studying.<br />
Hint #1: You can use the following sentence stem to write<br />
about your results: ‘My data shows … and this makes sense<br />
because …’.<br />
AIM<br />
To investigate how much friction different materials<br />
apply to a moving block<br />
MATERIALS<br />
• 5 × 10 × 10 cm block of wood<br />
• 1 m wooden board with a smooth finish<br />
• ruler<br />
• stopwatch<br />
• foil<br />
• cotton cloth<br />
• woollen cloth<br />
• various other materials (if desired)<br />
• cooking oil<br />
30 min<br />
Level 2<br />
METHOD<br />
1 Copy the results table into your notebook, adding<br />
a title and rows as needed.<br />
2 Prop the wooden board up on some books to create<br />
a ramp.<br />
3 Set the wooden block at the top of the ramp.<br />
Release the block and time how long it takes to slide<br />
down the ramp and hit the floor. Repeat two more<br />
times, then calculate the average time.<br />
4 Cover the underside of the block with foil, then<br />
repeat step 3.<br />
5 Cover the underside of the block with the cotton<br />
cloth, then repeat step 3.<br />
6 Cover the underside of the block with the woollen<br />
cloth, then repeat step 3.<br />
7 Cover the underside of the block with any other<br />
materials you want to check, then repeat step 3.<br />
8 Cover the underside of the block with cooking oil,<br />
then repeat step 3.<br />
QUESTIONS<br />
1 Which material slowed the block down the most?<br />
2 Which material slowed the block down the least?<br />
3 Explain why the different materials affected the<br />
block’s slide, referring to the effects of friction.<br />
4 Suggest a material that would have much more<br />
friction and much less friction than those you used<br />
in this investigation.<br />
CONCLUSION<br />
Copy and complete:<br />
‘The results show that: (respond to the aim)’.<br />
RESULTS<br />
TABLE I8.5<br />
Material Time 1 (s) Time 2 (s) Time 3 (s) Average time (s)<br />
Wood<br />
Foil<br />
178 GOOD SCIENCE VICTORIAN CURRICULUM 7