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Friction is a force that holds back the movement of a sliding object Friction is  everywhere, that objects come into contact with each other. The force acts in the opposite direction to the way an object wants to slide.

 

If a car needs to stop at a stop sign, it slows because of the friction between the brakes and the wheels. If you run down the sidewalk and stop quickly, you can stop because of the friction between your shoes and the cement. 

Friction makes walking and running possible. If there were no friction, we would be unable to move our legs on the ground without slipping and falling, just like you would experience when you try to move on a slippery surface, such as ice, which offers very little friction underfoot.

Also, friction enables vehicles to move controllably on the road without sliding or skidding, as it would have if it were on a wet slippery road with little friction.