Kindergarten · Science · week 25

Stop it! Ways to slow things down

Investigate how different surfaces change how quickly a rolling object slows down and stops.

A moving ball does not roll forever. Something has to slow it down, like a bumpy carpet, an obstacle, or your own hand catching it. A rough or bumpy surface grabs at a ball more than a smooth one does, so it slows the ball down faster.

Scientists sometimes call this grabbing effect friction, but you do not need the fancy word to understand it: rougher means more slowing down.

📋 For the teacher
Teach it (10–15 min):
  • Test rolling a ball, with the same push, across a few real surfaces around your home: tile, carpet, a towel.
  • Compare the stopping distance out loud each time.
  • Introduce the word friction lightly, but let "rougher grabs more" be the main idea that sticks.
  • Ask your child to catch a rolling ball and talk about how their hand stopped it.
Talk about it:
  • Which surface stopped the ball fastest?
  • Why do you think a bumpy surface slows things down more?
  • How do you stop a rolling ball with your hands?

Mastery looks like: They correctly predict and confirm that a rougher or bumpier surface slows and stops a rolling ball faster than a smooth one.

Common stumbles: Not actually testing genuinely different surfaces; expecting a ball to stop instantly no matter the surface.

Homework for this lessonType it, write it with a stylus, or print it for pencil & paper.open →
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