HOW DO ERASERS WORK?

— Jess, 7, AZ

It almost seems like magic the way an eraser can make words disappear on paper, but it all comes down to science! Pencils are made with graphite (a type of mineral) and erasers are made from a humanmade rubber. The rubber is “stickier” than the paper, so when you glide it over the written words, the tiny pieces of graphite stick to the eraser instead of the paper. The harder the eraser, the more rubbing you’ll need to do to erase. So if you make a lot of mistakes, we suggest getting a softer eraser — especially one made with vinyl. Vinyl picks up graphite even better than rubber!