This lesson is about teaching students the role of friction in interactions for moving objects. This simple lesson provides students an opportunity to build hoover crafts that move with very little friction. These lessons help students to think about the value of friction in moving large objects. Although hovercrafts can travel on both land and water, they’re more like airplanes than either boats or cars. The use FRICTION as the key to their flight. They are built on materials that have very little grip on the ground. This grip is what scientist call FRICTION. Because they do not have a good grip on the ground, they can be pushed very easily. Imagine trying to push someone who ways 100 pounds! That would be hard to do. If you put that same person on a skateboard, there is a lot less friction, so it is easier to push them. Hovercrafts work the same way. They are build on materials that have very little friction, so that adding a big fan makes them easy to push on land or on the ground. They hover in the air on a cushion of pressurized air. Although it might sound like magic, it’s actually pure — and fairly simple — science!
