Making Tracks in Friction with Lubrizol

This resource has been created by the chemists and engineers at Lubrizol, a large chemical engineering firm, to explore the processes and challenges faced by them on a daily basis as they aim to develop the best blend of products to meet the requirements of their customers. These include helping vehicles run more smoothly or machinery function more efficiently – avoiding damage to important parts of the equipment. The resource asks children to develop a blend of products that will help to protect surfaces (to limit metal on metal damage) or improve fuel economy whilst limiting environmental damage.

Working in teams, the children will investigate different household products and create their own blends. They will then review the testing equipment and help build a test track. Once built they will test their blends allowing them to record and analyse the different results in a consistent way.