Forces and Friction: Free KS2 Science Worksheet

What is friction?

Friction is a force that acts between two surfaces whenever they slide, or try to slide, past each other. It always works in the opposite direction to movement, which is why it tends to slow moving objects down and bring them to a stop. The roughness of the surfaces is the key factor: rough surfaces, such as carpet, gravel or sandpaper, grip together and produce a large amount of friction, while smooth or slippery surfaces, such as ice, polished wood or a wet floor, produce far less. This is why a toy car coasts a long way across a smooth tiled floor but barely moves on a thick rug. Friction also explains everyday experiences children already know well, from the grip of trainers on a playground to the difficulty of walking on an icy path in winter.

How this worksheet supports the Year 5 curriculum

The activities are built directly around the Year 5 forces objective of identifying the effects of friction acting between moving surfaces, and comparing how things move on different surfaces. The single illustration deliberately shows the same toy car on two contrasting surfaces so that children can isolate the one thing that has changed, the texture of the ground, and reason about its effect. The colouring task slows children down and encourages them to look closely at the speed lines and scuff marks that hint at how each car moves, while the tick activity asks them to commit to true-or-false judgements about friction. This mirrors the working-scientifically skills of making comparisons and drawing conclusions from observable evidence.

Using the worksheet at home or in class

Encourage children to talk through their reasoning rather than guessing. Before they start, you might ask them to predict which car will travel further and to explain why. As they colour, prompt them to notice the difference between the clean speed lines on the icy ramp and the wavy, scuffed ground on the rough surface. A practical follow-up works brilliantly here: roll a real toy car down a ramp covered with different materials, such as a smooth tray, a tea towel and a strip of sandpaper, and measure how far it travels each time. This turns the worksheet into a genuine fair test, where only the surface is changed and everything else, including the height of the ramp and the car used, stays the same.

Common misconceptions to watch for

Many children believe friction is always unhelpful because it slows things down, so it is worth highlighting that friction is also useful and often essential. Without it, we could not walk, brakes would not work, and a pencil would leave no mark on paper. Another frequent misconception is that heavier objects always experience less friction, or that friction only happens with solid surfaces; air resistance and water resistance are in fact types of friction acting against movement through air and water. Finally, some children think a smooth surface has no friction at all, rather than simply less of it. Drawing out these ideas during the activity helps secure a more accurate understanding of the concept.

Frequently asked questions