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What Happens Inside Bicycle Brakes

4th grade nonfiction passage about friction and stopping: 191 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

4th grade nonfiction friction and stopping 191 words

What Happens Inside Bicycle Brakes

A moving bicycle has energy of motion. To stop, that energy must go somewhere. Your brakes do the job by using a force called friction.

Friction is the pull that happens when two surfaces rub together. When you squeeze the brake lever, a cable pulls two rubber pads against the wheel. The pads grip the spinning metal rim. The rubbing between pad and rim makes friction, and the friction slows the wheel down.

Where does the energy of motion go? It turns into heat. Brake pads and rims get warm after a long stop, because rubbing always makes some heat. You can feel this on your hands when you rub them together quickly.

Wet weather changes how brakes work. Water makes a thin slippery film between the pad and the rim, so there is less friction. A rider who uses brakes in the rain has to start slowing down sooner. Worn pads are a problem too, since they may be too smooth to grip well.

This is why a careful rider checks the brakes before every ride. Good friction is what keeps a bike under control when it needs to stop.

Questions

  1. What force do bicycle brakes use to slow a wheel? in the text

  2. What does the cable do when you squeeze the brake lever? in the text

  3. What does the bike's energy of motion turn into when you brake? in the text

  4. Why does rain make brakes work less well? in the text

  5. Why should a rider start slowing down sooner in the rain? think about it

  6. Why does a careful rider check the brakes before every ride? think about it

Words to know

friction
the force that slows things down when they rub together
lever
a bar you press or pull to make a part move
rim
the outer edge of a wheel
worn
damaged or made thin from being used a lot
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One passage, three levels

The same topic and facts written three ways, so a mixed class can read and talk about one text. Each group’s sheet shows only a shape; the key says which is which.

● Easier · 140 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 2.5

A moving bike has energy of motion. To stop, that energy must go somewhere. Brakes use a force called friction.

Friction happens when two things rub together. You squeeze the brake lever. A cable pulls two rubber pads onto the wheel. The pads grip the spinning rim. The rubbing makes friction. The friction slows the wheel.

Where does the energy go? It turns into heat. Pads and rims get warm after a long stop. Rubbing always makes some heat. Rub your hands together fast and you will feel it.

Rain changes how brakes work. Water makes a slippery film between the pad and the rim. There is less friction. A rider must slow down sooner in the rain. Worn pads are a problem too. They can be too smooth to grip.

A careful rider checks the brakes before every ride.

▲ This passage · 191 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 4.3

A moving bicycle has energy of motion. To stop, that energy must go somewhere. Your brakes do the job by using a force called friction.

Friction is the pull that happens when two surfaces rub together. When you squeeze the brake lever, a cable pulls two rubber pads against the wheel. The pads grip the spinning metal rim. The rubbing between pad and rim makes friction, and the friction slows the wheel down.

Where does the energy of motion go? It turns into heat. Brake pads and rims get warm after a long stop, because rubbing always makes some heat. You can feel this on your hands when you rub them together quickly.

Wet weather changes how brakes work. Water makes a thin slippery film between the pad and the rim, so there is less friction. A rider who uses brakes in the rain has to start slowing down sooner. Worn pads are a problem too, since they may be too smooth to grip well.

This is why a careful rider checks the brakes before every ride. Good friction is what keeps a bike under control when it needs to stop.

■ Harder · 209 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 7.1

A bicycle in motion carries energy of movement, and in order to stop, that energy has to go somewhere. Brakes accomplish this task by taking advantage of a force known as friction.

Friction is the resistance that occurs when two surfaces rub against each other. When you squeeze the brake lever, a cable pulls two rubber pads firmly against the wheel. The pads grip the spinning metal rim, and the rubbing between pad and rim creates friction, which gradually slows the wheel down.

So where does all that energy of motion end up? It is converted into heat. Brake pads and rims become warm after a long stop, since rubbing always produces some heat. You can notice the same effect on your own hands when you rub them together briskly.

Wet weather alters the way brakes perform. Water forms a thin, slippery film between the pad and the rim, which reduces friction, so a rider who brakes in the rain needs to begin slowing down earlier. Worn pads can cause trouble as well, because they may have become too smooth to grip properly.

For this reason, a careful rider inspects the brakes before every ride. Good friction is what keeps a bicycle under control when it has to stop.

Download as one PDF

How to use it

  1. Press Read it big (or B) to put the text on the projector, or Full screen (F) to fill the whole screen.
  2. Ask the questions one at a time and use Show answer when the class has decided. A shows or hides every answer.
  3. Print student copy for the class, or Print with answers for yourself.

Ideas for class

  • Before reading, put friction, lever, rim and worn on the board with their meanings from the Words to know section and have students predict what the text will be about.
  • Read it aloud once while students follow along, then have them reread it alone or with a partner. At a calm 100 words a minute it takes about 2 minutes to read aloud.
  • Use the Read it big button (or B) to put the text on the projector, and Show answer on one question at a time so the class commits to an answer first.
  • Question 5 asks the reader to infer. Ask students to point to the words in the passage that led them to their answer.
  • Ask students to write one question the passage did not answer, then look for the answer in a book or on a classroom screen.
  • Print the student copy for independent work and keep the answer-key copy for yourself.

Related

Questions

What reading level is "What Happens Inside Bicycle Brakes"?

It was written for 4th grade. It has 191 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 4.3. That is a formula's estimate from sentence length and syllables, and it is not a Lexile or a guided reading level, so check it against your students.

What do the questions ask?

There are six. 4 ask for something the text says directly and 2 ask the reader to work something out from clues. Each has an answer in the key, and the answers are written as a teacher would accept them, not as the only possible wording.

How long does it take to read?

About 2 minutes read aloud at 100 words a minute. For a one-minute fluency check, paste it into the fluency timer and use the word count.

Can I print it?

Yes. Print student copy gives the passage, the questions with lines to write on, and the word meanings. Print with answers gives the same page with the answers filled in. Both are made in your browser.

Is this passage from a published book?

No. It was written for Peabody Teach, so there is no book to buy and no login to read it.

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