In this activity, students will learn the secret to, and perform, the magical tablecloth trick!

Materials Needed

For the demonstration:

1 tablecloth
1 place setting- make sure you practice this before using the good stuff!

For students to try:

A few tablecloths, cloth napkins, or other similar cloths
Smooth bottomed items to put on top of it- books, bowls, etc.

Steps:

Place a tablecloth on a table. It’s easiest with only a couple of feet of cloth on the table. Make sure there are no wrinkles.
Put a place setting on the table, near the edge of the cloth. (After practicing this, you’ll have a better idea of how confident you are and what dishes you want to use.)
Hold the bottom of the tablecloth with both hands and then very quickly pull DOWN on the tablecloth. Be careful not to pull it away from the table horizontally or at an angle. You want to yank the cloth down, which will pull the cloth out from under your place setting.
After a good demonstration for the students, let them try. They can use a full tablecloth, but they can also get the idea from using cloth napkins or smaller cloth items. Have them place some (safer) items on the wrinkle-free cloth and then yank it in the downward direction.
Make them promise you they won’t do it at home without permission!

Explanation:

Take a look at your tablecloth and dishes. They aren’t moving. Objects at rest don’t move unless you push or pull them. So, to make the tablecloth move, you need to push or pull it. To make it move without knocking over the dishes, you need to pull quickly. Why? Because of friction. Friction is a “sticky” force that appears when two objects rub against each other. If you pull the tablecloth slowly, friction helps pull the dishes along with it by “sticking” them to the tablecloth. If you pull the tablecloth quickly, the dishes still rub it, but the friction force doesn’t have time to get them moving. So, the tablecloth flies off without pulling the dishes with it.

Real World:

Now you know how they do it in the movies!