Group#4: Hachim-Jeongho-Wasim-Cano
PHYS 3A
Professor Rosa Alvis
9/17/2021
Lab 3: Friction
Objective:
The objective of this experiment is to measure the coefficient of static and kinetic friction
between the surfaces of a wooden block and paper.
Overview:
Friction exists when a physical object attempts to counteract the resistive force
encountered while being transitioned into kinetic motion (Fk) or static motion (Fs) at rest.
The friction equation is F=µN, where “µ” is the coefficient of friction, and “N” is the
normal force.
When an object has static friction, it is in a stationary position. The instant a force is
applied to it to move, it becomes kinetic friction. It takes greater force to move an object
with static friction than kinetic friction. Kinetic friction occurs when an object is already in
motion. Once kinetic friction takes place, the force goes in the opposite direction of the
object moving.
In this experiment, we evaluate a wooden object sliding against the surface of the paper
while varying the acceleration. This can be accomplished by varying the weights used to
pull the object.
After data is collected, computer software (Google Sheets in our instance) will be used
to find the coefficient of both kinetic and static frictions from plotting the measured
values and computing for the slope. An equation will be provided by the software in the
form of y=mx+b where m is the slope and µ of the friction formula.
