Title: Friction on an Inclined Plane 1.

Introduction : Friction force is the tangential force between two surfaces in contact, which arises when an attempt is made to move one of the surfaces compared to the second surface. In this experiment the apparatus was designed for use in experiments to identify the phenomenon of friction.

2. Objective : To obtain the frictional force for various combinations of materials. (Aluminium, steel and copper)

3. Method :

The experiment is started with testing the frictional force of aluminium on the level plane. The combination block has fixed weight which is 10 N. Load of weights was added until the block is moving. Then, the total load of the weights are recorded in table 1 and labelled as tension of the string. The procedures were repeated for other combination blocks materials and the coefficient for each material which is aluminium, steel and copper were determined.

Next, the base plate was set at the angle of 30. The load of weights was added until the block moves upwards. Then, the total weight loads (tension of the string) was recorded in table 2. As for the other combination blocks materials, the procedures were repeated and the coefficients for each material were determined.

4. Theory : Static friction When you want to push a heavy object, static friction is the force that you must overcome in order to get it moving. The magnitude of the static frictional force, satisfies Where ,

is the coefficient of static friction. From this equation it is clear that the is

maximum force of static friction,

Once the applied force exceeds this threshold the object will begin to move. Figure 2 depicts the free-body diagram of this case.

If the angle at which the mass begins to slide is known, we can determine by decomposing the forces into the Cartesian coordinates, x, y, as given in Figure 2. Since we are interested in the instant at which movement begins, we are dealing with an object in equilibrium. Thus, the resultant force in both the x and y directions must be zero. Analysis of the forces in the x direction yields

= mg sin

(1)

Following a similar procedure for the y direction yields (2) However, we know that at the instant that the mass begins to move = as follows =

N = mg cos

N (3)

Thus, by substituting (2) into (3) and equating the result with (1) we can solve for

mg cos

mg sin

Kinetic friction Once the force applied on a mass exceeds and the mass begins to move, a kinetic friction force , exists. Kinetic friction coefficients are generally less than static friction coefficients, which is the reason that it is much easier to keep a heavy object in motion than it is to start it in motion [4]. The magnitude of the kinetic frictional force is given as follows

=
where

is the coefficient of kinetic friction and is approximately constant.

5. Data collection Table 1 Plane angle, = 0 Block weight, W = 10 N Material combination Tensions of the string (N) Coefficient of friction,

Aluminium Steel Copper

1st 1.5 1.5 2.0

2nd 1.5 1.5 2.5

3rd 1.5 1.5 2.0

Avg 1.5 1.5 2.2

.15 .15 .22

Table 2 Inclination of plane, = 30 Coefficient of friction of aluminium, Block weight, W = 10 N Direction of motion

= 0.15

Tensile force of the string, T in measured (N) 1st 6.5 2.5 2nd 7.0 3.0 3rd 6.5 3.0 avg 6.7 2.8

Tensile force of the string, T in calculated (N) 6.3 3.7

% error

Upward Downward

6.3 24.3

Coefficient of friction of steel, = 0.15 Direction of Tensile force of the string, motion T in measured (N) 1st 6.0 3.0 2nd 6.0 3.5 3rd 6.0 3.5 avg 6.0 3.2

Tensile force of the string, T in calculated (N) 6.3 3.7

% error

Upward Downward

4.8 13.5

Coefficient of friction of copper, = 0.22 Direction of Tensile force of the string, motion T in measured (N) 1st 7.0 2.5 2nd 6.0 3.0 3rd 7.0 3.0 avg 6.7 2.8

Tensile force of the string, T in calculated (N) 6.9 3.1

% error

Upward Downward

2.9 9.7

6. Analysis and data interpretation

F = ma, a =0, = 0, N=0 N Aluminium = 0, N W cos30= 0 N = 10 cos30 = 8.7 N

= 0, N = mg N= 10 N

= 0, N W sin30 =0 T = (0.15)(8.7)+ 10 sin30 = 6.3 N

upward direction

Downward direction = 0, N W cos30= 0 N = 10 cos30 = 8.7 N Steel = 0, N W cos30= 0 N = 10 cos30 = 8.7 N Downward direction = 0, N W cos30= 0 N = 10 cos30 = 8.7 N Copper = 0, N W cos30= 0 N = 10 cos30 = 8.7 N Downward direction = 0, N W cos30= 0 N = 10 cos30 = 8.7 N = 0, N W sin30 =0 T = - (0.22)(8.7)+ 10 sin30 = 3.1 N = 0, N W sin30 =0 T = (0.22)(8.7)+ 10 sin30 = 6.9 N = 0, N W sin30 =0 T = - (0.15)(8.7)+ 10 sin30 = 3.7 N = 0, N W sin30 =0 T = (0.15)(8.7)+ 10 sin30 = 6.3 N = 0, N W sin30 =0 T = - (0.15)(8.7)+ 10 sin30 = 3.7 N

Error = |

| x 100

7. Question The material combination String tension T at the horizontal plane is lower than the tension in inclined plane in both directions because the value of N at inclined plane affects the tension as well.

8. Conclusion Copper has the highest coefficient of friction of 0.22 while both aluminium and steel have the same coefficient of friction of 0.15.

9. References http://blog.cencophysics.com/2010/02/coefficient-of-friction/ http://dev.physicslab.org/Document.aspx?doctype=3&filename=Dynamics _FrictionProperties.xml https://www.khanacademy.org/science/physics/forces-newtonslaws/inclined-planes-friction/v/static-and-kinetic-friction-example