How do erasers remove pencil marks from paper?
When a person writes, graphite particles wear off the pencil tip.
Erasers are used to remove the graphite marks made while writing on paper with a pencil. Erasers are generally made of 'sticky' substances like plastic, rubber, vinyl, gum, etc
When a person writes, graphite particles wear off the pencil tip and get interlocked with paper molecules. The soft action of the eraser causes the graphite particles to stick to it instead of the paper, as graphite has a stronger attraction to the eraser molecules than to paper. The 'dust left over after rubbing consists of worn rubber clumps mixed with graphite particles. Some types of erasers tend to remove the top layer of paper along with the graphite particles and rubbing the same spot repeatedly can make holes in the paper.
Did you know graphite has a stronger attraction to the eraser molecules than to paper?
Picture Credit : Google