PHY 122
STATIC & KINETIC FRICTION
OBJECTIVE
To develop conceptual understanding of the difference between static and kinetic friction, to measure the
coefficients of static and kinetic friction between two surfaces, and to check if the experimental data fits a
normal statistical distribution curve.
EQUIPMENT
Wood block, (2×) rectangular block mass, (1×) 500g or 1 kg mass, Pasco force sensor, string, Capstone
INTRODUCTION
When two objects interact by direct contact of their surfaces, the
interaction forces are called contact forces. There are two kinds
of contact forces: the normal force – a force perpendicular to the
contact surface (hence the name normal ), and the friction force
– a force parallel to the contact surface.
Newton’s 1st Law – Inertia
Objects with mass have the property of inertia: the tendency
for objects to maintain their state of motion unless
acted on by an external force.
We know from natural intuition that an object moving on a hor-
izontal surface will slow down and finally stop if there are no
forces being applied to maintain its motion. This implies that
there must be a resistive force causing the object to slow down; Figure 1: Friction is the resulting effect of
this is the friction force. the aggregate of many atomic interactions.
As an analogy, the collective motion of individual air molecules gives rise to aggregate parameters like tem-
perature and pressure. In the same way, the friction force arises from a simplified, macroscopic perspective
of many microscopic interactions. To be clear, this is a very simplified model of what’s really happening,
but it is sufficient for our purposes.
For objects already in motion, the kinetic friction force has a constant value that depends on the normal
force FN and the coefficient of kinetic friction µk .
fk = µk FN = µk mg (1)
Static friction, however, is a variable force that has a maximum possible value given by
fsmax = µs FN = µs mg (2)
where µs is the coefficient of static friction, which will always be larger than its kinetic counterpart µk .
These coefficients can never be negative because of energy conservation; but, despite what some believe,
they can be larger than 1 (although most materials have friction coefficients between 0 and 1). The static
friction coefficient for rubber against rubber is 1.15, for example.
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Figure 2: Static vs. kinetic friction
The static friction force is variable, and only has magnitude large enough to exactly cancel the applied
force, up to it’s maximum value given by Eq. (2). After surpassing the maximum static friction force, the
object starts moving and friction becomes kinetic. For our purposes we consider kinetic friction to have a
constant value, given by Eq. (1). To satisfy the aerospace engineers reading this, kinetic friction can be
variable. To first order, air resistance is proportional to the square of velocity, for example.
PROCEDURE
In this lab, we will take measurements for which the random errors are relatively large (roughly 10% of
the measured values). Using statistical analysis we will determine the final measured value along with its
corresponding uncertainty. To take measurements, you will pull a weighted block using a force sensor and
record the tension in the string using Capstone.
Calibration
1. Use the scale to measure the wood block and the weights – record these values in your lab worksheet.
2. Open the file L:/PHY122/Capstone/Friction
3. Make sure the sensor is: (1) attached to the provided lab stand, and (2) plugged in to the PASCO
box.
4. On the left vertical task bar in Capstone, click the green Calibration icon and perform a Two
Standards (2 point) calibration.
5. With nothing hanging from the sensor, set the first standard value as zero. Press the “zero” button
on the force sensor and click “Set Current Value to Standard Value” in Capstone.
6. Hang the provided mass from the force sensor. Now calculate the gravitational force on the provided
mass equal to Fg = mg. Insert this value as the second standard value and click “Set Current Value
to Standard Value.”
7. Check the calibration by doing the following: (1) hang the mass from the force sensor, (2) click
the Record button and take 40 seconds of data, (3) highlight the relevant data, and (4) find the
mean value using the icon. If the mean is not close to what you expect, perform the
calibration again.
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Figure 3: Experiment diagram
Part #1: Wooden block with two weights
1. Place two weights on the wooden block. Practice making smooth, short, straight line pulls. Each
pull should start from rest with no tension in the string, and the string should be
completely horizontal to minimize cosine error. Your data should resemble Figure 4 below.
Figure 4: Tension vs. time
Note how each pull has three distinct sections as labeled on the first pull in Figure 4: (a) before the block
starts moving, (b) while the block is moving at approximately constant speed, and (c) while the block is
stopping. Section (a) informs us of static friction, section (b) informs us of kinetic friction, and section (c)
is not particularly interesting to us.
2. Click Record and begin making short, smooth pulls. A total of 35 pulls is needed for Part #1. The
program will stop automatically after 40 seconds, which gives you enough time for 5-7 pulls per run.
3. For each pull, hover the mouse over the peak to find the maximum static friction force. Use the
highlight tool and the Statistics icon to find the mean value of kinetic friction and record both
values in Capstone.
4. Continue until you have 35 data points for fsmax and fk . You should see the mean and standard
deviation are automatically calculated.
5. Calculate the coefficients of static friction µs and kinetic friction µk using Eq’s (1) - (2) and the mean
values given by Capstone. Show your work and result in the lab worksheet.
6. Now we will check if our collected data fits a normal bell distribution. Look at the histograms
generated by Capstone. Use the icons and to change the bin size and observe how it changes
the histograms. Choose the graph with the distribution closest to that of a normal bell curve (if you
are unsure, ask your TA for help). Take a screenshot of both histograms, put them into MS Word
and print.
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7. On the printed histograms mark: (1) the mean value, (2) ± 1 standard deviation, and (3) ± 2
standard deviations.
8. Calculate the percent of data within 1 standard deviation. To do this, first count the number of
measurements that are inside the standard deviation boundaries, then divide by the total number of
measurements and multiply by 100%. If the errors are truly random and normally distributed, 68%
of the data will be within one standard deviation of the mean value, and 95% of the data will be
within two standard deviations from the mean value.
9. In the Discussion & Conclusion address whether or not your data is normally distributed.
Part #2: Wooden block with one weight
1. Repeat steps (1) - (5) from part #1 with only one weight on top of the wood block. Complete only
7 short pulls in this part rather than 35.
2. Calculate the coefficients of friction, record them in your lab worksheet and report the values of the
coefficient to your TA.
Your lab report should include the values of coefficients of friction µs and µk with both one
and two added weights along with their corresponding uncertainties. The histograms and
calculations of the percentage of data that fits within one and two standard deviations from
the mean should be reported in the results as well. Make sure to include the calculations for
how you arrived at your values of µs and µk and their errors in the Data Analysis section.
Include a discussion of sources of error in the Discussion & Conclusion.
Error propagation
Starting from Eq. (2) we can find the uncertainty in µs by “differentiating” using the product rule (Pro
tip: instead of using the quotient rule just flip everything to the numerator and use the product rule).
fsmax
fsmax = µs mg ⇒ µs = = fsmax m−1 g −1 (3)
mg
∆fsmax −f max
∆µs = + | s2 ∆m| (4)
mg m g
where we take the magnitude of both terms since we want to find the maximum possible deviation from
the true value. With some clever algebra left as an exercise for the student, we can simplify to
∆µs ∆fsmax ∆m
= max + (5)
µs fs m
Now here is where we, as the experimentalists, get to select the important terms and ignore the rest.
∆fsmax is given to us by the Capstone software. Comparatively, ∆m is much smaller than ∆fsmax . Thus,
we choose to neglect the error in mass, allowing us to simplify further:
0
∆µs ∆fsmax ∆m
:
∆fsmax
= max + ⇒ ∆µs = µs (6)
µs fs m fsmax
