Explore High and Low Friction Examples with Clip Cards

Friction is a force that opposes motion. Friction can be high or low, depending on the nature of the surfaces that are in contact with each other. 

Sounds a little confusing, right? To make this concept more tangible for students, we’ve created this set of high or low friction digital clip cards. The resource includes 24 clip cards, each one containing an image depicting a real-world situation. The students must look at the image and decide whether high or low friction is present. They must then drag a star icon over the correct answer.

Some of the high and low friction situations included in the resource are:

• Ice skating
• Hands rubbing together
• Sliding on a slide
• Traction on a wheel
• Using a pencil
• And many more!

This resource downloads as an editable Google Slides file. Simply project it onto your screen, and you have a ready-made activity for exploring high and low friction with your students! A printable PDF containing the answers is also available via a separate dropdown.

Multiple Applications for This High and Low Friction Resource

There are many ways these high and low friction digital clip cards can be used in your science lessons on forces. Here are some ideas to get you started:

1. Add Some Movement – A nice tweak on this activity is to use student movement instead of the draggable stars to indicate the correct answer. For example, students could move to different sides of the classroom as a way of choosing whether the image is an example of high or low friction.
2. Digital Learning Stations – Set up a digital learning station in your classroom where students can complete the high and low friction clip cards in small groups as part of science rotations.
3. Individual Practice – Assign the activity to your students in Google Classroom so they can complete the clip cards independently as a revision activity or assessment task.

Download to Explore High and Low Friction

Use the Download button to access the editable Google Slides version of this resource. Please be aware that you will be prompted to make a copy of the Google Slides file and save it to your personal drive before accessing it.

Be sure to work with this presentation in Edit mode as the draggable features will not work in Presentation mode.

This resource was created by Kaylyn Chupp, a teacher in Florida and a Teach Starter collaborator.

More Resources Targeting High and Low Friction

Teach Starter has more great resources to save you time when teaching friction forces to your class. Click below for some more curriculum-aligned, teacher-created activities!

[resource:3255626] [resource:2655810] [resource:3390934]