Contact Forces

TEKS 4.7, 4.1E, 4.1G

Contact Forces

Key Ideas

● What is a contact force?

● How are contact forces

and motion related?

● What is friction?

● How can we model friction?

Words to Know

contact force interaction
friction motion

Photo credit: luckyraccoon/Shutterstock

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Multiple Choice

Choose the correct statement

• Higher friction caused the car to go further

• Lower friction caused the car to go further

Fill in the Blanks

Fill in the Blanks

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Key Idea

What is a contact force? continued

A contact force is a force that pushes or pulls an
object by touching the object. An interaction is the
effect that one object has on another object.

push

pull

Photo credit: New Africa/Shutterstock

Fill in the Blanks

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Activity

Contact Forces Answers

Describe Identify the
contact forces you observe.

The boy pulls himself up
with his hands and arms.

The boy pushes against
the support with his feet.

Photo credit: Jacek Chabraszewski/Shutterstock

Multiple Choice

What is motion?

• A change in position.

• The effect that one object has on another object. 

  
  

• A force that pushes or pulls an object by touching the object.

Dropdown

Force can ​

Select answer

an object in motion, they can ​

Select answer

an object that is moving, or change the ​

Select answer

of the object.

Draw

Match the force with its effect by drawing a line from the force column to the effect column.

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Key Idea

What is friction? continued

Friction is a contact force that pushes against objects
in motion. You can plan and conduct a descriptive
investigation to explore the patterns of friction by
rolling a ball on different surfaces.

Photo credit: Phovoir/Shutterstock, stevecoleimages/E+/Getty Images

Open Ended

What is friction?

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Activity

Friction

Compare Identify the higher friction activity between
biking on dirt and biking on a sidewalk. Compare the
effects of friction when biking on each surface.

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Activity

Friction Answers

Compare Identify the higher friction activity between
biking on dirt and biking on a sidewalk. Compare the
effects of friction when biking on each surface.

The dirt path is rough and results in more friction against
the tires. This slows the bike down more than when riding
on a sidewalk.

Open Ended

Looking at the image, how can you identify the friction and motion?

Audio Response

 Describe the direction of friction based on these arrows.

Open Audio Recorder

Draw

Draw a picture of an active game or activity
you enjoy. Use arrows and labels to identify contact
forces in your drawing.

Label F for Friction and M for Motion.