9.10. Extended Learning — Activities and Projects

1. What role does friction play in the sport of your choice? Collect some pictures of that sport in action where friction is either supporting it or opposing it. Display these pictures with proper captions on the bulletin board of your classroom.

In this activity, you are encouraged to explore the concept of friction as it applies to a sport you enjoy. Friction is a force that can either help or hinder athletes in their performance. By collecting pictures that illustrate these effects, you gain a visual understanding of how friction works in a sporting context. For example, in running, shoes are designed with treads to increase friction with the ground, providing better grip and reducing slipping.

Think of a basketball player dribbling the ball. The friction between the shoe and the court allows the player to make quick stops, starts, and turns without slipping. On the contrary, if the court is wet, the lack of sufficient friction can cause players to slip, affecting their game.

2. Imagine that friction suddenly vanishes. How would life be affected? List ten such situations.

In this imaginative exercise, you consider the hypotheticals of a world without friction. Friction is necessary for many everyday activities, from walking to writing. Without it, most movements would become extremely difficult. For example, walking would be impossible as our feet would slip, and driving would become unmanageable as vehicles would not be able to stop or steer properly.

Imagine sliding on ice - if all surfaces were this slippery, you wouldn't be able to walk, run, or even hold onto anything firmly. It’s similar to trying to hold a bowling ball at the top of a hill if it's perfectly smooth; it would just roll away without any resistance.

3. Visit a shop which sells sports shoes. Observe the soles of shoes meant for various sports. Describe your observations.

In this activity, you are tasked with observing different types of sports shoes and their soles. Different sports require different types of activity, and the soles are designed accordingly, focusing on the principle of friction. For example, running shoes might have grooves and cushioning to absorb impact and increase grip, while basketball shoes often have a flat surface for better stability.

Consider a track shoe with spikes at the bottom. These spikes dig into the ground and provide extra grip, making it easier for a sprinter to push off and gain speed without slipping. This is similar to how a car tire's tread helps maintain traction with the road.

4. A toy to play with: Take an empty matchbox. Take out its tray. Cut a used refill of a ball pen of the same width as the tray as shown in the figure below. Fix the refill with two pins on the top of the tray as shown in Fig. 9.18. Make two holes on the opposite sides of the tray. Make sure that the holes are large enough to allow a thread to pass through them easily. Take a thread about a metre long and pass it through the holes as shown. Fix beads at the two ends of the thread so that it does not come out. Insert the tray in the outer cover of the matchbox. Suspend the match box by the thread. Leave the thread loose. The match box will start falling down due to gravity. Tighten the thread now and observe what happens. Explain your observation. Can you relate it to friction?

This activity involves creating a simple toy that demonstrates how friction works. By suspending the matchbox and observing its movement when the thread is tightened, you can see how the friction between the pen refill and the matchbox's surface helps in controlling its motion. This demonstrates the role of friction in stopping or slowing down movement.

Think of a rollercoaster; as it climbs and drops, the friction between the wheels and the track allows it to grip firmly and prevent slipping. Just like the matchbox experiment where the thread controls the motion, rollercoasters depend on friction to stay on track and provide a thrilling experience.

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