LAB REPORT OF APPLIED PHYSICS

PRESENTED BY MECH-8B(GROUP 2):

 UZAIR AZHAR
 FAIZ AHMED
 MUHAMMAD FAHAD
 ABU HURRERA
 EHTISHAM KHALID
 HARIS IRFAN

SUBMITTED TO:
IBTEHAAJ HASSAN
Contents
INTRODUCTION: ..................................................................................................................................... 3

THEORY: ................................................................................................................................................... 3

PROCEDURE:............................................................................................................................................ 4

RESULTS: .................................................................................................................................................. 5

CALCULATIONS: ...................................................................................................................................... 5

Analysis and Conclusions:...................................................................................................................... 6

QUESTIONS: ............................................................................................................................................ 6

RUNS: ..................................................................................................................................................... 10
RUN1.................................................................................................................................................. 10
RUN2.................................................................................................................................................. 11
RUN3.................................................................................................................................................. 11
RUN5.................................................................................................................................................. 12
RUN6.................................................................................................................................................. 12
RUN7.................................................................................................................................................. 12
 SLIDING FRICTION OF A
TRAY MASS

INTRODUCTION:
The purpose of this experiment is to find the coefficient of static friction
and the coefficient of kinetic friction for different surfaces. As it pulls a
Friction Tray from rest to a constant velocity, the Force Sensor can
measure both the static friction and the kinetic friction. A plot of each of
these forces versus their respective normal forces yields both
coefficients.

THEORY:
When a force is applied to an object resting on a surface, it will not move
until the force applied to it is greater than the maximum force due to
static friction. The coefficient of static friction (µs) is simply the ratio
between the maximum static frictional force (Fs) and the normal force
(FN): To keep the object moving at a constant velocity, a force must be
applied to the object equal to the kinetic frictional force. Hence, the
coefficient of kinetic friction (µk) is the

PROCEDURE:
 Take a glass box with a top cavity, place the motion sensor inside
the box at one end.
 Take 3 trays which differ in their material from their bases.
(Wood, Plastic, Felt)
 Take a block of 250g, and place it inside the wooden tray and
measure its combined mass.
 Place the wooden tray inside the glass box attached with force
sensors via thread.
 Start recording the force and slide the tray perpendicularly along
the motion sensor.
 Slide the tray with constant velocity and constant force opposite
to the motion sensor.
 After obtaining the graph, analyze the recording for any error.
 Repeat the experiment with a block of 500g, 750g and 1000g
symmetrically.
 Note that you have taken 4 observations of wooden tray with 4
different masses.
 Now hook one tray behind the other. Repeat steps with two 250 g
masses in each cart.
 Determine the maximum static force and the kinetic force at
constant velocity. Enter the results in the frictional forces page in
rows labelled Train Static and Train Kinetic.
RESULTS:
Following results are obtained from the above experiment:

CALCULATIONS:
To calculate µs : divide Fs by F
To calculate µk :divide Fk by F
Analysis and Conclusions:
The frictional coefficients vary based on the
materials and are independent of the masses used or the surface area
exposed to friction.

QUESTIONS/ANSWERS:
Q What relationship exists between the static frictional force and
the normal force on an object?

ANS)
Fs = “5 Fri
Where Fs is the static frictional force, u‘ is the coefficient of static friction
and F" is the normal force on an object, the equation shows that the static
friction force is directly proportional to normal force.

Q Did the speed affect the kinetic friction? If you saw a difference,
was it significant? Why or why not?

ANS)

Yes, speed has to do something with kinetic friction. Once the object has
started moving, the ratio of frictional force to the normal force is lowered
as compared to when the body is at rest. There is an inverse relation
between the velocity of the object and the kinetic friction.
Yes, the relation is observed in the experiments when we noticed that less
force is needed once the body attains the state of motion. Similarly, as
the velocity is increased more and more decrease in kinetic friction
offered is noticed. However, the coefficient of kinetic friction remains the
same.

Q Did the normal force on the friction tray affect either the
coefficient of static friction or the coefficient of kinetic friction?
Explain.

ANS)
No, normal force does not affect the coefficient of static or kinetic friction.
These coefficients are constants.
The change in normal force may affects the static or kinetic force of
friction by direct relation but their ratio; the two coefficients obtained
respectively, will always be the same.

Q Rank the friction trays from highest coefficients of friction to lowest.

What is physically different with the surfaces with high coefficients
versus the surfaces with low coefficients?
Explain.

ANS)
Friction trays having the highest coefficient of friction to the lowest is as
follows
CORK>PLASTIC>FELT

The roughness or smoothness of the surfaces is the main difference. The

surfaces with more pits and bumps have larger coefficients of friction. So
basically nature of the material determine and help to analyze the
coefficients of friction.

Q What pattern do you notice between the values of the coefficients

of static and kinetic friction? Why is this important when driving a
car? For rubber tires, the difference between static and kinetic is much
larger than for cork.

ANS)
The value of coefficient of static friction for all the surfaces and
combinations is higher than the value of coefficient of kinetic(sliding)
friction for all the surfaces .A higher coefficient of friction decreases your
stopping distance. It is better, therefore, for your tyro to be using static
friction rather than kinetic friction. If the tier is rolling along so that the
surface touching the ground is never sliding, then static friction is acting
to slow the car. If the wheels are locked and sliding, then kinetic friction
is acting to slow the car

Q Does the frictional force depend on the surface area of contact

(remember that your uncertainties are rather large)? Explain how you
know. What is the advantage of having wide tires on a car?

ANS)
Friction is a contact force when two surfaces interact. Friction formulas
ONLY depend on the coefficient of friction and the normal force. It does
not depend on the area of contact; it doesn't depend on the sliding speed.
The less friction our vehicle produces, the lower our steering effort, which
also means less fuel consumption. Wide tires provide for more friction,
making our vehicle consume more fuel, whereas narrow tires cause our
car to consume less fuel because they have lower amounts of friction.
RUNS:

RUN1
RUN2

RUN3

RUN 4
RUN5

RUN6

RUN7