SABELLANO, HANNAH ERIKA

TENNESSINE
From The Physics Classroom’s Physics Interactive http://www.physicsclassroom.com 

Force Interactive 
Situations Involving Friction 

Purpose:  
The purpose of this activity is to explore some relationships between variables for the 
situation of a block being accelerated across a horizontal surface by an applied force. 

Background:  
When forces are unbalanced, objects accelerate. But what exactly affects the acceleration  of the
object? What affect does the amount of force that is applied, or the mass of the  object, or the
amount of friction experienced by the object have upon the acceleration  the object experiences?
In this activity you will conduct several controlled or simulated  studies in order to determine
the answer to these questions. 

Challenge 1: 
Conduct a controlled study in which you determine the effect of a varying applied force upon
the acceleration in the presence of friction. Think hard about what variables you  change and
what quantities you will keep constant over the course of the study. Run  several trials in which
you collect data to determine this cause-effect relationship. Plot  the data and perform linear
regression in order to generate an acceleration equation,  expressing acceleration as a function
of the applied force. 
Note: the friction variable that is indicated in the simulation refers to the coefficient of friction. It is 
represented by the symbol µ (pronounced "mu"). It is a unit-less number ranging from 0 up to 0.9. 
(Values of µ can exceed 0.9; that just happens to be the upper limit in this Interactive.)
SABELLANO, HANNAH ERIKA
TENNESSINE

Challenge 1 Conclusion: 
In the space below, make a claim in which you state the equation relating the  acceleration to the
applied force. Show a sketch of the graph and the linear regression  statistics (slope, y-intercept,
and regression constant). Write a paragraph of reasoning in  which you explain how the data
and associated graph support the claim that you have  made. 
APPLIED FORCE (N)

120

100
f(x) = 2 x + 9.8
80

60

40

20

0
5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50

ACCELERATION APPLIED FORCE

(m/s/s) (N)
10.1 30
15.1 40
25.1 60
35.1 80
45.1 100

FORCE= MASS X ACCELERATION

The slope is 2, y=2x+9.8, b=9.
The acceleration of an object is depends directly on the force applied to the object and
inversely upon its mass. As seen in the graph as the acceleration increases the force also
increases. An object of a constant mass accelerates in proportion to the force applied to the
object as seen in the graph since the mass is constant and the value of the mass is the slope
which is 2.

A Challenging Follow-up: 
Look at the slope value from your graph and inspect the Data table. What quantity do  you
suppose the slope represents? Make a claim and support it with evidence and  reasoning.

The slope of the graph is the mass. It is seen in the graph that the mass is constant in all points
which is 2. As the slope was computed the answer was also 2. The formula Force=mass x acceleration
was applied hence the slope should represent the mass.
SABELLANO, HANNAH ERIKA
TENNESSINE

Challenge 2: 
Conduct a study in which you determine the effect of a varying coefficient of friction (mu)
upon the acceleration. Run several trials in which you collect data to determine  this cause-
effect relationship. Before you begin, think hard about what variables you  will change and
what quantities you will keep constant. If your original plan fails, then  
adjust your values and start over until you have a sufficient quantity of data. Plot the  data
and perform linear regression in order to generate an acceleration equation,  expressing
acceleration as a function of mu. 
Note: the friction variable that is indicated in the simulation refers to the coefficient of friction. It is 
represented by the symbol µ (pronounced "mu"). It is a unit-less number ranging from 0 up to 0.9. 
(Values of µ can exceed 0.9; that just happens to be the upper limit in this Interactive.)
SABELLANO, HANNAH ERIKA
TENNESSINE
©The Physics Classroom, All Rights Reserved This document should NOT appear on other websites. 
From The Physics Classroom’s Physics Interactive http://www.physicsclassroom.com 
Challenge 2 Conclusion: 
In the space below, make a claim in which you state the equation relating the  acceleration to
the coefficient of friction (mu). Show a sketch of the graph and the linear  regression statistics
(slope, y-intercept, and regression constant). Write a paragraph of  reasoning in which you
explain how the data and associated graph support the claim  that you have made. 
50
48
f(x) = 2 x
46
44
42
40
38
36
19.5 20 20.5 21 21.5 22 22.5 23 23.5 24 24.5
net
acceleration force
24.02 48.04
23.04 46.08
22.06 44.12
21.08 42.16
20.1 40.2
ACCELERATION =NET FORCE/ MASS
The slope is 2, y=0
In the graph there are 2 forces working on the object the applied force which is 50N is
pushing the object to the right and the friction force which is opposite to the applied force. We
can see that the acceleration and the net force is increasing since the mass and the applied force
are constant values and the varying value is the Mu. As the friction force increases the
acceleration decreases since the friction is opposite the applied thus it is subtracted to the
applied force. The relationship of Mu or friction force itself is inversely proportional to the
acceleration.
A Challenging Follow-up: 
Look at the slope value from your graph. What quantity do you suppose the slope 
represents? Make a claim and support it with evidence and reasoning.
The slope in this graph still represents the mass. Since it is still a representation of
the relationship of acceleration and force. The value of mass as seen in the table is
constant and the slope should also be constant throughout the graph hence we can say that
the mass is the slope. The formula applied is acceleration= net force/ mass since net force
and acceleration can already be seen in the graph thus, we can infer that the mass is the
slope since it is the only value that is constant in the relationship.
SABELLANO, HANNAH ERIKA
TENNESSINE
©The Physics Classroom, All Rights Reserved This document should NOT appear on other websites.