What is abrasion?

Abrasion is when something rough rubs against another thing and makes it smoother or worn down.

Imagine you're playing with your favorite toy car, and it keeps going over a gravel road. The little rocks on the road are rough, and they keep hitting the bottom of the car. After a while, the car’s bottom gets a bit scratched and worn, that's abrasion in action!

Think of sandpaper: it's rough, and when you rub it against wood, it makes the wood smoother. That’s exactly what abrasion does, but instead of sandpaper, it could be rocks, gravel, or even your socks rubbing together all night.

If you’ve ever skinned your knee after falling on the sidewalk, that rough surface helped wear down your skin, and that’s abrasion too! It might hurt a little, but it's just the rough stuff doing its job.