GED Science: Friction on Ice!
Hey, did anyone out there watch the 2010 Winter Olympics? Watching all those skiers and skaters made me wonder how come you can slide down snowy or icy surfaces so fast, but if you tried the same thing on grass or concrete, you wouldn’t slide as much. I mean, what makes ice so slippery? I know it has something to do with friction but I don’t really know what friction is, so I tried to look it up. But then I realized something. The internet has a LOT of information! There’s like over 25 MILLION results when I put the word “friction” into google.com. When I looked at the first one at Wikipedia, it said:
Friction is the force resisting the relative lateral (tangential) motion of solid surfaces, fluid layers, or material elements in contact. It is usually subdivided into several varieties.
Already I’m like, WHOAH, what does THAT mean? I have no idea! That’s why sometimes I feel stupid, ’cause I read stuff on the internet when I just wanna find out a simple answer to a simple question like, “Why is ice slippery” and I get this sentence about relatives and ladders and tangerines. I don’t get it! But I really wanted to know, ’cause I been tryin’ to look things up like Mr. W says, so I tried the next link down at fearofphysics.com and that definition made WAY more sense:
Friction is the “evil” of all motion. No matter which direction something moves in, friction pulls it the other way. Move something left, friction pulls right. Move something up, friction pulls down.
Already I can tell a little more about Friction! It’s some kinda force that keeps you from moving one way ’cause it’s pushing the other way. That’s not so hard to understand. And when I read the rest of the definition, I could already kind of guess what the answer to my question was! Look, I made a practice question out of it:
Friction is the “evil” of all motion. No matter which direction something moves in, friction pulls it the other way. Move something left, friction pulls right. Move something up, friction pulls down. It appears as if nature has given us friction to stop us from moving anything. Friction is actually a force that appears whenever two things rub against each other. Although two objects might look smooth, microscopically, they’re very rough and jagged… As they slide against each other, their contact is anything BUT smooth. They both kind of grind and drag against each other. This is where friction comes from. — fearofphysics.com
Why can you slide on ice more easily than on concrete?
1. Concrete is evil.
2. Ice has more friction than concrete.
3. Concrete has more friction than ice.
4. Ice has no friction at all.
5. It’s impossible to know from this passage.
Since this is my practice question, I’ll let you guys figure it out! But I wanted to also say that, well, if at first you don’t succeed, try, try again! I mean, when I first tried to look up friction, I just didn’t get it. I think that if I was lookin’ this stuff up before I started studying for the GED, I woulda given up after the first try. I woulda thought I was an idiot! But I’m not! Even if I have to go to a site that’s meant for kids in middle school or something, I’d rather understand something that was explained really simplistically than not get it at all!
So everyone out there, keep trying and searching for answers to your questions! Eventually, you’ll find something that makes sense to you!
For more information about the GED test and GED test preparation, visit the GED Academy at http://www.passGED.com.
