Teaching Kids About Air Resistance and Friction

When you run, your body creates a forward motion by using energy from your muscles. This forward motion is caused by air resistance, which is the force that slows down your movement. Air resistance is created by the wind that’s pushing against your body and the air that surrounds you.

Friction is the force that stops your movement. Friction is caused by the surfaces that you’re touching, like the ground or the walls of a building. When you run, your feet are touching the ground and the friction between your feet and the ground stops your movement. The more surfaces that you’re touching, the more friction you’ll experience.

When you’re running, the air resistance and the friction work together to stop your movement. But if you stop running, the air resistance will stop working and you’ll fall down. The friction will keep you from falling, but it will also slow down your movement.

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