Experiment 4: Friction

Laboratory Report
Rafael David, Pamela de Leon, Katrina de Vera, Manette Dejelo

Department of Sports Science

College of Rehabilitation Sciences, University of Santo Tomas
España Street, Manila Philippines

Abstract are moving relative to each other and rub

Friction is the force between two
surfaces rubbing together. In this
experiment, the area of contact, normal
force, and nature of surfaces in contact
were correlated with friction. The air
resistance and the effect of lubricant were
also discussed.
1. Introduction
together.
Air resistance refers to the forces
that oppose the object in motion. A falling
object has two forces: gravity downward
(mass x 9.8 m/s2) and air resistance upward.
Together these combine to form the net
force. Isaac Newton tells us that this
combination of forces must equal mass x
acceleration.

The force of friction is a force that Several famous scientists and

resists motion when two objects are in
contact. The normal force is defined as the
net force compressing two parallel surfaces
together; and its direction is perpendicular to
the surfaces. In the simple case of a mass
resting on a horizontal surface, the only
component of the normal force is the force
due to gravity, where N=mg.
There are two types of friction: static
friction and kinetic friction. Static friction
is the friction experienced when we try to
move a stationary body on a surface, without
actually causing any relative motion
between the body and the surface which it is
on. It can be defined as the force of friction
which exactly balances the applied force
during the stationary state of the body.
Kinetic friction occurs when two objects
engineers contributed to our understanding
of dry friction. They include Leonardo da
Vinci, Guillaume Amontons, John
Desaguliers, Leonard Euler, and Charles-
Augustin de Coulomb. Nikolai Petrov
and Osborne Reynolds later supplemented
this understanding with theories of
lubrication. A lubricant is a substance
introduced between two moving surfaces to
reduce the friction between them
In this experiment, the group should
be able to achieve the following objectives:
(1) to verify the laws of friction (2) and to
observe the effect of air resistance on falling
bodies.
2. Theory
Friction is the force between surfaces
in contact that resists their relative tangential
motion. Its velocity is opposite the relative
velocity. Force is the interaction between
two physical bodies, such as an object and
its environment. It is a push or pull upon an
object resulting from the object's interaction
with another object. Forces only exist as a
result of an interaction and it is proportional
to acceleration.
The force that result when the two
interacting objects are physically contacting
each other is called the Contact Force while
Action-at-a-distance forces are those types
of forces that result even when the two
interacting objects are not in physical
contact with each other, and are still able to
exert a push or pull despite their physical
separation.
The Laws of Friction embodies the
discussion on the force of friction. The first
law states that when the surface of two
objects are in rough contact, and have a
tendency to move relative to each other,
equal and opposite frictional forces act, one
on each of the objects, so as to oppose the
potential movement. The second law states
that until it reaches its limiting value, the
magnitude of the frictional force F is just
sufficient to prevent motion. In the third law
it says that when the limiting value is
reached, F= uR, where R is the normal
reaction between the surfaces and u is the
coefficient of friction for those two surfaces.
Law four states that for all rough contacts 0
< F < IiR and if a contact is smooth a = 0 as
stated in the fifth law.
Newton’s first law states that a body
will continue in its state of rest, or of
uniform motion in a straight line, unless an
external force is applied to it. Once an object
is pushed and set in motion it continues to
move in a straight line until some other force
intervenes. Newton’s second law defines the
relationship between force, mass and
acceleration. For a body of a particular
mass, the bigger the force is, the bigger the
acceleration will be and the larger the mass
is, the larger will be the force needed to
produce a particular acceleration. This
verifies that the force F is proportional both
to the acceleration a and to the mass m.
F µ ma
Newton’s third law states that the
action and reaction are equal and opposite.
This means that if a body A exerts a force on
a body B then B exerts an equal force in the
opposite direction on A. This is true whether
the two bodies are in contact or are some
distance apart, whether they are moving or
are stationary.
The force producing the acceleration
is the Weight (W). Using F = ma gives:
W = mg
Air friction is an example of fluid
friction. Unlike the standard
model of surface friction, such friction
forces are velocity dependent. Air resistance
is approximately proportional to velocity.
 Static frictional force is the friction
between two objects in contact that are not
moving. Static friction is generally greater
than kinetic friction and must be overcome
before an object can be set in motion.
Kinetic frictional force is when two surfaces
are moving with respect to one another.
Kinetic friction is generally less than static
friction. These can be calculated using the
equations:
The formula for the coefficient of kinetic
friction is
The formula for the coefficient of static
friction is  plastic, and wood and paper.
3. Methodology
In Activity 1, a wood block was
placed on top of the wood board. A spring
scale was connected to the wood block by a
hook. The minimum force needed to start
the motion of the block by pulling the spring
balance was determined. This force is
numerically equal to the maximum static
friction. The reading of the spring balance as
fsmax was recorded. The block was set into
motion by pulling the spring balance. The
force needed to move the block with
constant velocity was determined. This force
is numerically equal to the kinetic friction.
This was recorded as fk. The procedure was
repeated using the other sides of the block.
In Activity 2, the block of wood was
weighed. 100g was added on the block. The
normal forces were equal to the weight of
the block plus the added 100g. The
maximum static friction and kinetic friction
was determined the same way it was
determined in Activity 1. Three more trials
were made and 100g was added in each trial.
The results were tabulated. The coefficient
of static friction and coefficient of kinetic
friction in each trial were determined.
In Activity 3, the maximum static
friction and the kinetic friction were
determined between wood and wood, wood
and tile, wood and sand paper, wood and
In Activity 4, hands were rubbed
together for 1 minute. Then the hands were
placed on the cheeks. The same activity was
done but a small amount of lotion was
placed on the hands.
In Activity 5, a folded paper was
released from the air and the terminal
velocity was determined. Another folded
paper was added to the first one, and the
same procedure was done. The same process
was repeated till there were five layers of
folded paper.
4. Results and Discussion weight had the greatest friction. The greater
the normal force, the greater the friction.
Table 1. Friction and Area of Contact
Table 3. Friction and Surfaces in Contact
Area fsmax fk
1 0.7 N 0.6 N Surfaces in Contact fsmax fk
2 0.7 N 0.6 N Wood and wood 0.6 N 0.4 N
3 0.7 N 0.6 N Wood and tile 0.6 N 0.4 N
Wood and sand paper 1.0 N 0.8 N
Wood and plastic 0.8 N 0.6 N
Table 1 shows the relationship Wood and paper 0.8 N 0.6 N
between friction and the area of contact. The
results show that the area does not affect the Table 3 shows the relationship
maximum static friction and the kinetic between friction and the surfaces in contact.
friction of wood. The greatest friction occurred when wood
Table 2. Friction and Normal Force was in contact with sand paper. The least
friction occurred when wood was in contact
Wt. of Block = 1.7 N
with wood and tile.
N Force fsmax fk µs µk
1.7 N 0.6 N 0.4 N 0.35 N 0.23 N
2.7 N 1.2 N 1.0 N 0.44 N 0.37 N In Activity 4, the effects of
3.7 N 1.4 N 1.2 N 0.38 N 0.32 N lubricants were determined. Rubbing your
4.7 N 2.0 N 1.8 N 0.43 N 0.38 N
hands made a hot sensation because of the
strong friction. It wasn’t as hot as rubbing
Table 2 shows the relationship of your palms without lotion because the lotion
friction with the normal force. The makes your hand slippery thus making the
maximum static friction, kinetic friction, and friction not as strong as rubbing your hands
their coefficients were determined. For the barely. While with water, the sensation was
normal force, 1.7 N, the static friction is 0.6 cold and there was no friction.
N and the kinetic friction is 0.4 N. The
coefficients are 0.35 N and 0.23 N Table 4. Air Resistance
respectively. For the normal force, 2.7 N,
# of Terminal Sq. of terminal
the static friction is 1.2 N and the kinetic filters Velocity velocity
friction is 1.0 N. The coefficients are 0.44 N 1 -0.9700 m/s 0.941 m2/s2
and 0.37 N respectively. For the normal 2 -1.579 m/s 2.493 m2/s2
3 -1.274 m/s 1.623 m2/s2
force, 3.7 N, the static friction is 1.4 N and
4 -0.8314 m/s 0.691 m2/s2
the kinetic friction is 1.2 N. The coefficients 5 -1.406 m/s 0.977 m2/s2
are 0.38 N and 0.32 N respectively. For the
normal force, 4.7 N, the static friction is 2.0 Table 4 shows the effect of friction
N and the kinetic friction is 1.8 N. The with air resistance. With 2 filters, this had
coefficients are 0.43 N and 0.38 N the greatest terminal velocity. With 4 filters,
respectively. The block that carried the most it had the least terminal velocity.
5. Conclusion
When an object is moving, the
friction is proportional and perpendicular to
the normal force. Friction is independent of
the area of contact so long as there is an area
of contact. The coefficient of static friction
is slightly greater than the coefficient of
kinetic friction. Within rather large limits,
kinetic friction is independent of velocity.
Friction depends upon the nature of the
surfaces in contact. The "effect" of air
resistance varies with mass, but the force
itself does not. What air resistance depends
on is speed through the air. For slow
velocities, air resistance is proportional to
speed. For fast velocities, air resistance is
proportional to the square of the speed.
From the 5 activities, it is seen that there are
a lot of factors that contribute to friction and
force.
6. Applications
1) Which will require a greater force:
to start the motion of a heavy box
or to keep the box moving with
constant speed?
Keeping a box moving with constant
speed would require a greater force
compared to starting the motion of a
heavy box. The time spent moving
the heavy box at constant speed
consumes more energy and requires
greater force. Time, energy and force
are interrelated concepts that could
be directly applied with this matter.
Naturally with more time involved,
applying constant energy will require
greater force due to the demands
involved with pushing the box at
constant speed as compared to
starting the motion of a heavy box.
2) Why is it difficult to walk with new
leather soles?
It is difficult to walk with new
leather soles on a polished floor
because of the absence of friction on
the floor. A polished floor is shiny
thus reducing the amount of friction
present. It is also difficult to walk
with new leather soles because the
surfaces of the ridges the new soles
is still smooth as compared to those
that are used heavily. This in turn
makes it difficult to walk with new
leather soles on a polished floor
because it would be slippery due to
the lack of normal friction.
3) How can an adjustable inclined
plane be used to measure the
coefficient of static friction and
coefficient of kinetic friction?
Coefficient of static friction is
defined as the ratio of the maximum
possible frictional force parallel to
the surface of contact which acts to
prevent two bodies in contact and at
rest with respect to each other, from
sliding or rolling over each other, to
the force normal to the surface of
contact with which the bodies press
against each other. Coefficient of
kinetic friction on the other hand is
defined as the ratio of the frictional
force, parallel to the surface of
contact, that opposes the motion of a
 body which is sliding or rolling over
another, to the force, normal to the
surface of contact, with which the
bodies press against each other. The
use of the adjustable inclined plane
would be to determine the amount
friction that propels the motion
involved.
friction is 450 N because the refrigerator is
still at rest.
7. References
[1] Cutnell, J.D. & Johnson, K.W. (2010).
Introduction to physics. (8th ed.). USA: John
Wiley & Sons.

4) The coefficient of static friction [2] Kinetic & Static friction. Retrieved on
and coefficient of kinetic friction January 25, 2011 from http://ffden-
between a refrigerator and the 2.phys.uaf.edu/211_fall2002.web.dir/ben_to
floor are 0.45 and 0.38 wnsend/staticandkineticfriction.htm
respectively. The refrigerator
weighs 1000 N. Find the [3] Air Resistance. Retrieved on January 26,
horizontal force needed to 2011 from
http://www.newton.dep.anl.gov/askasci/phy
a.) Start the motion of the 00/phy00590.htm
refrigerator
b.) To keep the refrigerator
moving at constant speed once
it started moving

If a horizontal force of 400N is

applied, what will happen to the
refrigerator? In this situation,
what is the value of friction?

Solution:

a. μs x fN = fsmax
0.45 x 1000 = 450 N

b. μk x fN = fk
0.38 x 1000 = 380 N

If a horizontal force of 400 N is

applied, the refrigerator will not move. The
weight of the refrigerator is greater than the
applied force. In this situation, the static