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Josh Alther

11/11/10

Per.5

Friction Lab

During this lab experiment we will investigate the relationship between friction and

weight. To do this, wood blocks will be pulled with a spring scale to determine the force required

to produce a constant velocity for a given surface and weight. The weight of the block will be

increased by increments of 500g and the process repeated until at least 6 data points have been

recorded or the limit of the spring scale is reached.

To do this experiment we will be using friction, weight and force. Force is a push or pull

exerted on an object. I will know when the force applied equals the friction resisting the direction

of motion because when your acceleration is zero than your net force is zero. So if the net force

is zero then the pulling force plus the force of friction equals zero and then they balance out.

Weight is the gravitational force exerted on a person or object at the surface of a planet

and friction is a force that two surfaces exert on each other when they rub against each other.

Friction always acts in the opposite direction of motion and there are four kinds, static, sliding,

rolling, and fluid friction. Static affects object that are not moving, so if you cannot push

something it is because the static friction and weight are greater than the force you are exerting.

Sliding occurs when two solid forces slide over each other, such as when you are pushing a

heavy box over the floor. Rolling friction occurs when an object rolls over a surface like a

skateboard rolling in the street; it will eventually stop because of rolling friction opposing the

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motion. The last type of friction is fluid when a solid object moves through a liquid; this is the

friction that opposes the motion of a surfboard in the water. The more friction and weight you

have, the more force you will need to create motion.

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0 80 5 50

500 150 40 100

1000 280 60 200

1500 380 80 270

2000 430 100 350

2500 580 120 450

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Analysis

Railing Friction: y = 0.194x + 90

Furniture Sliders: y = 0.152x + 50

Rolling Friction: y = 0.04x + 20

I got these figures by using the straight-line formula and plugging numbers from my data

into the equation, y=mx+b. The variable y is the pulling force and m is the coefficient of friction

which is also the slope of the best-fit line in my graph. X is weight and b is the y-intercept of the

graph that I constructed. I used my data to plug into my equation

Discussion

For my hypothesis on friction and weight, the data reinforced it. Whenever there was

more weight involved it created greater friction. This in turn increased the pulling force needed

to move the block. If you have less weight the friction will decrease also decreasing the pulling

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force needed to move the block. The data I took shows me as I added more weight the pulling

force increased backing up my hypothesis. The data also shows me that it doesn¶t matter what

friction you use the same thing still applies. So for the rolling friction and the two types of

sliding friction I tested showed increase in pull force when the weight increased. My hypothesis

wasn¶t perfect, since to get friction you need weight and a surface. These things create friction;

you can¶t add friction to weight unless the friction is another variable since weight contributes to

friction. The total friction equals weight plus the other variables of friction that apply.

My data is not consistent showing me like in all experiments there was error. There are

multiple probable causes of error including; reading the scales, other friction on the table, and

not accurate equipment. The data may have been altered by false reading of the spring scale.

While my partners and I were moving the block it was jumpy making it hard to read. This

created not perfectly accurate data. This jumpiness was possibly caused by dirt or other objects

on the surface we were using introducing new types of friction so that weight wasn¶t the only

type of friction being tested. The equipment I believe is another possibility of error, since the

wood blocks also themselves have imperfections another source of friction.

My data showed these imperfections since the best fit line did not overlap all of the data

points though they are close. Changing the velocity just makes the spring scale more jumpy and

harder to read. I think the experiment could be improved by adding more data points and using a

smoother, cleaner surface. The new surface will get rid of most of the other friction and the more

data points will make the best- fit line more accurate improving the experiment.

Conclusion

From this experiment I learned the relationship between friction and weight and I also

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learned how different factors can change an experiment entirely. The relationship between

friction and weight is that weight with friction increases the pulling force needed to create

motion. The equation is the total friction equals weight plus the other variables of friction. The

type of friction with the highest coefficient is sliding and the one with lowest is fluid.