Task 26

Materials and tools for a working group: 

board, wooden block, ruler, materials and tools proposed by pupils

While the previous task was to investigate how it is possible to increase the friction of a moving object, in this task, pupils investigate how the friction could be reduced. The teacher explains that in this activity they will carry out the same measurement, but their task will be to propose how friction could be reduced so that the cube slips quicker.

The first task is to propose predictions while one example is already formulated. Each pupil creates at least two other predictions. In addition to guiding pupils to the correct formulation of predictions (in the form of predictive statements, not questions), pupils realize that in research activities it is natural to have a number of predictions, while they cannegotiate each other. We realize the research because we do not know the result, predictions targets our research activity to what is interesting for us, what we want to verify with our previous experience.

After making predictions, the teacher guides the pupils to verify them. Pupils adjust the board and the block in terms of their predictions (for example, in the case of a given prediction, both surfaces coat with cream) and observe to what height they must lift the board to slide the block down. The prediction is confirmed when this height is less than the height to which the board had to be lifted to slide the wooden block itself.