Determining What Affects the Coefficient

of Friction between Two Surfaces

Introduction:
Friction is often thought of as something bad because it is responsible for
wearing things down- like machinery, or car tires- and causing them to run less
efficiently. In reality, friction is a necessary force that is needed to carry out nearly every
action that humans perform. If there were no friction, shoes and car tires would get no
traction and it would be very difficult to move around effectively.
The current scientific theory of the cause of friction is that, at the microscopic
level, both surfaces being examined are rough, no matter how smooth they actually seem.
When these rough microscopic surfaces are together, they form a microscopic weld
which requires a force to break. The force needed to break these microscopic welds is
known as the force of friction. Friction can be either kinetic (a force acting on a moving
object) or static (a force acting on a stationary object).
One important aspect of friction is the coefficient of friction, represented by the
symbol . This is the measurement of how grippy a surface is, and is a necessary
piece of information when calculating the force of friction that is acting on an object. The
calculation that is used to find the force of friction is Ff = FN , where Ff represents the
force of friction and FN represents the normal force. The aforementioned normal force
is the force that the surface beneath an object exerts in order to cancel the force of
gravity. To calculate the force of static friction using an angled surface, the calculation
s= tan, where is equal to the measurement of the angle in degrees, can be used.
The purpose of this lab was to measure and compare the coefficients of kinetic
and static friction between a wood surface and a block of wood. The effect of the mass of
an object on the coefficient of friction was also investigated. It was hypothesized that an
objects mass will not have an effect on the coefficient of friction. The static coefficient of
friction was predicted to be larger than the kinetic coefficient of friction.
Materials:
-

Wooden board
Wooden block with metal hook
Spring scale

- Assorted Weights
- Protractor
- Scale

Procedure:
Kinetic Friction:
Once each material was collected, the obtained wooden block was measured using
a scale and a variety of weights. After the weight of the wooden block was recorded, it
was placed on the horizontal wooden board and connected to the spring scale. Pulling on

the spring scale to move the wood block at a constant velocity, the applied force needed
to do so was recorded from the spring scale. This was repeated four more times, with
additional weight added each time. The normal force for each trial was calculated.
Observations:
Figure 1

Observations of the Kinetic Friction between the Wooden Surfaces

Trial

mblock (kg)*

madded (kg)

mtotal (kg)

1
2
3
4
5

0.353
0.353
0.353
0.353
0.353

0
0.100
0.200
0.400
1.00

0.353
0.453
0.553
0.753
1.353

Fnormal (N)
3.46
4.44
5.42
7.38
13.26

It is important to note the possibility of error in the measurements:

* +/- 0.005 kg
** +/- 0.5 N
Figure 2

Fapplied (N) **
0.70
0.75
1.0
1.3
2.4

Using the line of best fit, the slope of the graph was obtained:
y 2 y1
Slope =
x 2 x1
=
=

( 2.20 N ) (0.80 N )
(12.20 N ) ( 4.40 N )

1. 4 N
7.8 N

Slope= 0.18

Calculations:
The percent difference between the expected value and the obtained value for the kinetic
coefficient of friction was found using the equation:
Value 1 Value 2

%Difference = (Value Value ) / 2 (100)

1
2
=

0.25 0.18
(100)
(0.25 0.18) / 2

0.07
(100)
(0.43) / 2

%Difference = 33%

Discussion:
The normal force obtained in the investigation was discovered by using
the equation FN=mg. This is the typical equation to find the force of gravity on an object
but was used in this investigation to accurately find the normal force of the wooden board
on the wooden block. This equation worked correctly because the wooden block never
moved in a y direction (up or down) so the net force in the y direction must be 0. From
this, it is known that the force of gravity must have been equal to the normal force and
therefore, the normal force could be found using the calculation that is normally used to
find the force of gravity.
When the slope of the graph (see Figure 2) was obtained, it became evident that
the slope represents the coefficient of friction between the wooden board and the wooden

block. This can be explained by rearranging the equation used to obtain the force of
friction.
Ff = FN
Ff

FN

Since the block moves at a constant velocity, it can be said that the net force on
the x axis is 0. This means that the friction must be equal to the applied force, therefore
we can substitute in FA for Ff :
=

FA
FN

Thus, the slope of the graph in Figure 2 (which shows the applied force over the
natural force) is representative of the coefficient of friction, .
The coefficient of friction that was obtained from the graph was a value of 0.18.
According to Physics: Concepts and Connections, the expected value of the coefficient of
friction between the block of wood and the wooden board was 0.25, meaning the
obtained value of the coefficient of friction was found with a 33% difference.
The coefficient of friction that was obtained was fairly close to the expected
value. There were several possible sources of error that could have caused the percent
difference to be as large as it was. The possible sources of error that were found in this
investigation were mainly due to the shape of the wooden board. The board may have
been less smooth than intended, it may have been warped or angled slightly, or it may
have had dents or ruts in the surface. These sources of error would have resulted in an
inaccurate reading of the actual applied force needed to maintain a constant velocity
while pulling the wood block.

Procedure:
Static Friction:
The wooden board was placed horizontally with a protractor on the side at the
very end. After placing the wooden block onto the wood board, the board was lifted from
the end and tilted slowly until the wooden block began to slide. The angle of the board at
this instance was then measured and recorded. This process was repeated three more
times with increasing mass applied to the block each time before the board was tilted. The
coefficient of friction for each trial was then calculated using the formula provided.

Observations:

Calculating the Static Coefficient of Friction

Figure 3

Trial
1
2
3
4

mtotal (kg)
0.353
0.453
0.553
0.753

1 ()
14
13
14
14

2 ()
13
11
12
13

3 ()
14
13
13
12

4 ()
12
16
13
13

5 ()
13
14
14
11

average ()
13.2
13.4
13.2
12.6

Calculations:
The static coefficient of friction for each mass combination was calculated using
the equation: s = tan
For example, for trial number one the static coefficient of friction was calculated:
s = tan
= tan(13.2)
s = 0.23
This procedure was repeated for each trial by substituting with the average angle
obtained in each trial.
The average s was then calculated by adding the four obtained s and dividing that
number by 4.
0.23 0.24 0.23 0.22
4
0.92
=
4

s, average =

s, average = 0.23
The percent difference between the expected value and the obtained value for the static
coefficient of friction was found using the equation:
Value 1 Value 2

%Difference = (Value Value ) / 2 (100)

1
2
0.25 0.23
(100)
(0.25 0.23) / 2
0.02
=
(100)
(0.48) / 2

%Difference = 8%
Discussion:
A free body diagram can be used to derive the equation s = tan :

s
0.23
0.24
0.23
0.22

Figure 4

The normal force, FN , is equal to ((m)(g))cos.

The force of friction will be ((m)(g))sin but the equation to determine the force of
friction is Ff = FN ; therefore we can substitute ((m)(g))sin for Ff and ((m)(g))cos for
FN :
Ff = FN
((m)(g))sin = s(((m)(g))cos)
Then the equation can be rearranged to determine :
s =

((m)( g )) sin
((m)( g )) cos

s =

sin
cos

And since

sin
= tan then:
cos

s = tan
The coefficient of friction that was obtained from this experiment was 0.23 while
the expected coefficient of friction was 0.25. The coefficient that was obtained was very
close to the expected value, with a percent difference of only 8%.
From the data that was collected, it became clear that the mass of the wooden
block did not affect the value of the static coefficient of friction. This is because, as the
mass of the object changed, so did the normal force applied (which is a key variable in
the calculation used to determine .
The coefficient of static friction that was obtained was slightly larger than the
coefficient of kinetic friction that was obtained. This agrees with the prediction made at

the beginning of the lab and makes sense due to an understanding of the forces applied on
the wooden block in each situation. In the tests to determine the coefficient of kinetic
friction, the wooden block traveled at a constant velocity, meaning the net force of the x
axis forces was 0. In the tests to determine the coefficient of static friction, the wooden
block started from rest but was forced to accelerate when the wood board was raised to a
high enough angle. The block was at rest (not already in motion) so a larger force was
needed to move it.
The sources of error that may have occurred during the testing for the coefficient
of static friction were mainly due to the wooden boards quality. There may have been
dents or a curve in the board or it may have been rougher than other smoothened boards.
The results of these possible sources of error would be larger static coefficient of friction
than intended had the board been in perfect condition.
Conclusion:
The first part of the investigation resulted in the coefficient of kinetic friction that
was obtained to be 0.18. The value was obtained and compared to the expected value of
0.25 with a percent difference of about 33%.
The second part of the investigation resulted in the coefficient of static friction
that was obtained to be 0.23. The value was obtained and compared to the expected value
of 0.25 with a percent difference of only 8%.
As predicted, the mass of the wooden block did not have an effect on the
coefficient of friction between the wooden block and the wooden board beneath it. The
mass of the wood block was increased by as much as 1.0kg but the yielded coefficient of
friction was still very near to the average value obtained from the entire test. As predicted
as well, the value for the static coefficient of friction that was obtained was larger than
the kinetic coefficient of friction that was obtained, due to the force needed to accelerate
the wooden block as opposed to the force needed to contain a constant velocity.