Friction Ramp Texture Science Experiment

A large cardboard piece for the ramp

Books for elevation

Sandpaper, aluminum foil, felt, wax paper, and a towel

A small toy car or wooden block

Tape, timer, paper, and pencil

Prop a cardboard ramp on books to create an incline.

Cut squares of each material and tape them flat to separate cardboard strips.

Place the first surface on the ramp.

Release a test object from the top and time the slide.

Replace with the next surface and repeat with the same object.

Record times and observations in a chart.

Rank from most friction to least. Discuss: "Why was the towel slowest? Why was wax paper fastest?"

Before testing, have your child touch each surface and predict the order. Predictions make the results more meaningful.

Friction is the resistance between two surfaces. Rough surfaces create more friction. Smooth surfaces create less.

Control variables: same object, same starting position, same ramp angle. Change only the surface.

Try the experiment at different ramp angles. Does the friction ranking change?

This is a genuine science fair project framework. Add a hypothesis, data table, and conclusion for a complete experiment.