ANALYSIS

Performing experiment 101 and 102 uses almost the same materials, however in this
experiment, instead of the dynamics cart, a wooden block with friction and frictionless side is
needed to find the coefficient friction. The main struggle in this experiment is that the track is not
stable and we have to constantly redo the set up and repeat gathering data.
The force that is always the opposite of the motion of the object is called the friction. The
two types of friction are kinetic and static. Kinetic friction happens between multiple objects that
has contact with each other. On the other hand, static friction is happening between two or more
stationary materials. Static Friction is always much higher than the kinetic friction.
The experiment tests the factors significant to friction. There are two parts of the
experiment, the first part examines whether the coefficient of friction changes with different
surfaces and the second part is to find out the relationship between the angle of repose and the
coefficient of friction. The weight of the block is recorded under 𝑊𝑏 , the weight of the pan is
under the 𝑊𝑝 , and the coefficient of friction is denoted as 𝜇. The frictional force has direct
proportionality to the normal force and the coefficient of friction becomes the constant replacing
𝑘 in the formula. The formula becomes 𝑓 = 𝜇 𝑁. To solve for the coefficient of friction, the
𝑓
equation becomes 𝜇 = 𝑁.
In Part A of this experiment, we used two surfaces, the bigger side of the block with felt
surface and the narrow side of the block with same surface to compare if the coefficient of
friction is changed upon different surfaces. The block was placed on top of the track and it is
connected to the pan by a string. Weights are added to the pan to know the amount of force
needed until there is a constant sliding motion observed in the block. The necessary data in this
𝑓 𝑊𝑝
part the weight of the block and the pan to find the coefficient of friction. 𝜇𝑘 = 𝑁𝑘 = 𝑊 is
𝑏
utilized to come up with the value of coefficient of friction.
Table No. 1a. Resolution of the Coefficient of Friction
Trial Total Weight of Block Total Weight of Pan Coefficient of Friction
1 187.6 g 55 g 0.29318
2 232.6 g 60 g 0.25795
3 237.6 g 65 g 0.27357
4 262.6 g 70 g 0.26657
5 287.6 g 75 g 0.26070
Average Coefficient of Friction, 𝜇 = 0.27041

The table above shows the gathered data on the bigger side of the block and has a total of
five trials. For the first trial, it is solely the mass of the block and we found out that it will have a
uniform motion if we added 55 g into the pan. On the following trials however, the group added
a total of 5 g to both the pan and the block for each trial to notice a steady motion on the block in
the track.
 Table No. 1b. Resolution of the Coefficient of Friction
Trial Total Weight of Block Total Weight of Pan Coefficient of Friction
1 172..6 g 55 g 0.29318
2 242.6 g 60 g 0.25795
3 327.6 g 65 g 0.27357
4 377.6 g 70 g 0.26657
5 387.6 g 75 g 0.26070
Average Coefficient of Friction, 𝜇 = 0.27041

In this table, the narrow side of the block was used, but the procedure was still the same
as when the bigger side of the block was used, to know the coefficient of friction. It has also a
total of 5 trials. It is observed in the data that the added weights are not constant. The formula
𝑓 𝑀
used to solve the coefficient of friction is the same as Table No. 1a, 𝜇𝑘 = 𝑁𝑘 = 𝑀2 .
1

90
total weight ogf the pan Wp(g)

80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 450
total weight of the block Wb (g)

Figure No. 1. Graph of the Resolution of the Coefficient of Friction

In the graph above, it is visible that both of the total weight values of the block and the
total weight of the pan is augmented. In this set of values, it is observed that the rise in both the
pan and the block is not constant, the reason to this discrepancy is that the weights seems to have
slightly different masses even though they are labeled the same, they seem to have unequal
heaviness.
On the second part of the experiment, the idea about the association of the angle repose
and the coefficient of friction is introduced. Angle repose is the minimum angle to which an
object will start to slide. The set up of his part of the experiment is inclined at an angle to know
at what angle, the block will start to slide in a uniform velocity. After performing the experiment,
the measured height is 30 cm, and the horizontal base is 39.81 cm.
ℎ
To compute the angle of repose, we utilized the formula, tan 𝜃 = 𝑏, we obtained 0.75355
and the angle in which the block started to move is at 37°. The coefficient of friction, is said to
be equitable to the tangent of the angle of repose.
SAMPLE COMPUTATIONS

PART A. Resolution of Coefficient Value

Using Trial 1of the larger side Using Trial 2

𝑓𝑘 𝑊𝑝 𝑓𝑘 𝑊𝑝
𝜇𝑘 = =𝑊 𝜇𝑘 = =𝑊
𝑁 𝑏 𝑁 𝑏

55 60
𝜇 = 187.6 𝜇 = 232.6

𝜇 = 0.29318 𝜇 = 0.25795

Using Trial 1 of the Narrow Side Using Trial 2 of the Narrow Side

𝑓𝑘 𝑊𝑝 𝑓𝑘 𝑊𝑝
𝜇𝑘 = =𝑊 𝜇𝑘 = =𝑊
𝑁 𝑏 𝑁 𝑏

40 60
𝜇 = 176.6 𝜇 = 242.6

𝜇 = 0.23175 𝜇 = 0.24732

Computing the Average Coefficient of Friction (large side)

𝛴 𝑜𝑓 𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝜇 0.29318+0.25795+0.27357+0.26657+0.26070
=
5 5

= 0.27041

PART B. Determination of Angle Repose

𝜃 =37°
ℎ
tan 𝜃 = 𝑏

30 𝑐𝑚
= 39.81 𝑐𝑚

= 0.75355

𝜃 =37°
CONCLUSION

This experiment investigates the kinetic friction and figured how the factors concerned
could affect the result of the coefficient of friction. The materials used in the experiment is the
block with a big and narrow side with two different surfaces, the wooden and the felt surface, the
dynamics track with pulley, a pan, a string, a digital balance, set of weights and a meter stick.

The experiment is divided into two parts, the first one examines if the coefficient value of
friction is affected by different surface area and based from our observation, the type of surface
affects the coefficient of friction, the friction side of the block is much less harder to manipulate
than wooden because, we observed that at some point of our trials, the block stops for a second
and moves again constantly, that’s why we struggled in repeating our trials but it is still
manageable. The wooden side of the block is moving smoothly on the track however, the
problem is, whatever weight we put on the pan and the block, still it keeps on moving and so we
opted to use the felt side of the block.

Another factor that is tested in the experiment is whether the surface area of the block
affects the coefficient of friction, the data shows that there is relatively small gap on the average
coefficient of the friction of the bigger side of the block and the smaller side, therefore, the
surface area does not affect the coefficient value of the friction.

In Part B of the experiment, the objective is to distinguish the linkage between the angle
of repose and coefficient of friction. The theory states that the tan 𝜃 is equals to the coefficient
value of friction however, our results shows a large difference between the two that our group
might have had the wrong readings for the measurements and the angle of which the set up was
inclined.