Engineering Science

Worksheets
FRICTION AND INCLINED
PLANE KIT ES8
3. SLIDING FRICTION

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DB/1012

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Blank Page for Notes ES8 Worksheet

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Sliding Friction ES8 Worksheet

Sliding Friction
Aims
To investigate the static and kinetic frictional forces on different surfaces and determine the coefficient of
friction from experiment.

Experiment Setup
As shown in Figure 1, fix the parts to the Work Panel. Count the holes in the Work Panel if you need to
make sure everything fits correctly.

Now move the Work Panel to the end of your desk or workbench so the Weight Hanger can hang
over the edge.

Friction
Sled Inclined
Plane

Figure 1 Experiment Setup

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Sliding Friction ES8 Worksheet

Experiment Procedure Part A - Static Coefficient of Friction

1. Set the plane at an angle of 0 degrees. Note: The angle of the plane is critical in this experiment. Take
extra time to make the plane perfectly level. Make sure the plane is bare metal.

2. Attach the Metal Friction Plate under the Sled, to give a metal-metal surface.

3. Find the mass of the sled. To do this, use the end pulley and a Weight Hanger (see Figure 2). Start by
using the 10 g masses until the Sled almost balances, then use the 1 g masses for a more accurate
adjustment. Record the mass of the empty Sled.

Figure 2 Weighing the Sled

4. Put the empty Sled on the Plane to the far left.

5. Without tapping the Work Panel (as this removes stiction), add pulling weights until the pulling force
overcomes the static friction and starts to move the Sled along the plane. Record the pulling weight.

6. Now add 80 g to the Sled, evenly spread to give 4 x 20 g stacks and repeat the experiment.

7. Continue as shown in the Results Table until the Sled has 320 g evenly spread.

8. Repeat the experiment with the Wood Friction Plate and the Wooden Plane Surface, giving a Wood-
wood surface. Then repeat with the Plastic Friction Plate and the Plastic Plane Surface, giving a Plastic-
plastic surface. Remember to weigh the empty Sled when you fix the Wooden and Plastic Friction
Plates, as the plate changes the weight of the Sled.

9. Find the total weight of the Sled by adding its empty weight to the weights added. Convert this value
into the equivalent total force. Convert the pulling weights into the equivalent forces.

10.For each surface, add your results to the blank chart paper of Pulling Force (vertical axis) against Force
due to Sled Weight (W). Draw a best fit line through your results, extending down to the origin (0,0).
Find the gradient of your results to find the average static coefficient of friction.

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Sliding Friction ES8 Worksheet

Static Metal - Metal

Weight of Empty Sled (g):

Total Force due

Sled Weights Total Weight to Sled
Added including empty (W) Pulling Weight Pulling Force
(g) Sled (g) (N) (g) (N)

80 (4 x 20)

160 (4 x 40)

240 (4 x 60)

320 (4 x 80)

Table 1 Blank Results Table

Static Wood - Wood

Weight of Empty Sled (g):

Total Force due

Sled Weights Total Weight to Sled
Added including empty (W) Pulling Weight Pulling Force
(g) Sled (g) (N) (g) (N)

80 (4 x 20)

160 (4 x 40)

240 (4 x 60)

320 (4 x 80)

Table 2 Blank Results Table

Static Plastic - Plastic

Weight of Empty Sled (g):

Total Force due

Sled Weights Total Weight to Sled
Added including empty (W) Pulling Weight Pulling Force
(g) Sled (g) (N) (g) (N)

80 (4 x 20)

160 (4 x 40)

240 (4 x 60)

320 (4 x 80)

Table 3 Blank Results Table

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Sliding Friction ES8 Worksheet

3
Pulling Force P (N)

0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6
Force due to Sled Weight W (N)

Table 4 Blank Chart Paper

3
Pulling Force P (N)

0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6
Force due to Sled Weight W (N)
Figure 3 Blank Chart Paper

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Sliding Friction ES8 Worksheet

3
Pulling Force P (N)

0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6
Force due to Sled Weight W (N)
Figure 4 Blank Chart Paper

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Sliding Friction ES8 Worksheet

Experiment Procedure Part B - Kinetic Coefficient of Friction

1. Repeat Part A, but tapping the Work Panel (to remove stiction) while adding pulling weights.

2. Add your results to the chart paper you used for the static tests, but draw your best fit lines as dotted
or dashed lines.

Kinetic Metal - Metal

Weight of Empty Sled (g):

Total Force due

Sled Weights Total Weight to Sled
Added including empty (W) Pulling Weight Pulling Force
(g) Sled (g) (N) (g) (N)

80 (4 x 20)

160 (4 x 40)

240 (4 x 60)

320 (4 x 80)

Table 5 Blank Results Table

Kinetic Wood - Wood

Weight of Empty Sled (g):

Total Force due

Sled Weights Total Weight to Sled
Added including empty (W) Pulling Weight Pulling Force
(g) Sled (g) (N) (g) (N)

80 (4 x 20)

160 (4 x 40)

240 (4 x 60)

320 (4 x 80)

Table 6 Blank Results Table

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Sliding Friction ES8 Worksheet

Kinetic Plastic - Plastic

Weight of Empty Sled (g):

Total Force due

Sled Weights Total Weight to Sled
Added including empty (W) Pulling Weight Pulling Force
(g) Sled (g) (N) (g) (N)

80 (4 x 20)

160 (4 x 40)

240 (4 x 60)

320 (4 x 80)

Table 7 Blank Results Table

Questions and Conclusions

Do your results confirm the extra force needed to overcome static friction (are the static friction results
steeper than the kinetic friction results?) If not, can you explain what happened?

What can you say about the relative forces needed to overcome the static friction for each surface and what
does this suggest about the surfaces?

Do your results compare well with the typical coefficient values shown in the Guidance Notes? Can you
explain any differences? Note that the bare metal surfaces used in the kit are stainless steel.

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Notes ES8 Worksheet

Notes

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