Once upon a time, there was a little girl named Nikki. She loved to play with her toy car on the floor. One day, she noticed that her toy car was not moving as fast on the carpet as it did on the smooth floor. She tried to push it harder but it still didn’t go as fast.
Nikki asked her father about why was this happening. Her father explained that the carpet was rough and bumpy which made it harder for the wheels of the car to turn. This is called friction.
Nikki realised that friction is actually like a force that slows things down when they rub against each other. It happens when two things are pushed together and one thing tries to slide over the other thing.
Her father showed her how she could make the car go faster by putting it on a smooth surface like a table or a wooden floor. The wheels of the car could turn more easily because there was less friction.
Short stories for kids 