Principle
- Using a friction block, the students should establish that
the frictional force is independent of the surface area.
- For a constant surface area the students should vary the mass
of the friction block and measure the frictional force
Fr in each case.
A graph of these results should then be investigated, showing
clearly the proportionality between frictional force and weight
(force). Finally, the students should also calculate the
coefficient of friction, μ, from the slope of the straight
line.
Task
Does friction change under load?
In this experiment you will investigate whether
the frictional force depends on the surface size, and whether
it depends on the load (i.e. the mass).
