III.

Analysis of Data

When two bodies interact on their surfaces, the interaction is

called contact forces. Friction is an example of contact forces.
Friction is the force that opposes to the motion of an object, the
direction of the friction force is opposite the direction of the
motion of an object. The equation of friction is f=n. Friction
forces may either be static or kinetic. Static friction acts when the
object is at rest or at equilibrium. Kinetic friction acts when the
object moves over a surface. For this experiment we will be
computing foe the coefficient o friction.

On the first part of the experiment, determination of the

coefficient of friction, we encountered some errors. The values we
mp we obtained for the first (mblock) and second (mblock + added) is
equal. The value of mp for mblock +added should be greater than that
of mblock. By the time we realized the error, the
materials/equipment used for the experiment were already
returned so we cannot repeat this part of the experiment again.
From thee experiment, we have proven that coefficient of friction
is independent on the area of contact. The area of contact does
not affect the coefficient of friction because it is not a factor in the
equation of friction (f=n).

TABLE FOR DETERMINATION OF THE ANDLE OF REPOSE

TRIAL

1
2
3
4

vertical height,
h

37
50
44
37

cm
cm
cm
cm

horizontal
distance, b

tan

116.5 cm
113 cm
115.75 cm
119

0.3176
0.4428
0.3801
0.2815

11.6198
23.8838
20.8118
15.7219

The second part of the experiment is determining the angle

of repose. When the block slides down the inclined track without
acceleration, it is in equilibrium and a triangle can be formed by
the weight of the block, force of friction and the normal force. For
every trial the plane was inclined so that the block slides on an
uniform motion. The data for vertical height h and horizontal
distance b obtained was used to calculate the tangent of the
angle and the angle of repose. The coefficient of friction is equal
to the tangent of the angle of repose ( = h/b = tan). From the
data obtained, it can be observed that as the angle of repose
increases, the coefficient of friction also increases.

The last part is about determination of maximum force that

causes uniform motion. Since the average coefficient of friction
from part one was used, errors were also obtained in the
computations of the actual value of m p. The experimental values
obtained for this part accumulated minimal percent difference
even if there were errors from first part of the experiment.

Throughout the experiment, uniform motion was observed

because we applied Newtons First Law of Motion (

F=0

) in

deriving the equations used for the experiment. If a body is at rest

or moving with constant velocity, it is in equilibrium and the
vector sum of all the forces acting on it is zero. At a constant
speed or motion, the kinetic friction is also constant.

IV. Conclusion
The two contact forces present between two bodies are
normal force and friction. Friction is equal to the product of the
coefficient of friction and the normal force. Friction always acts
opposite the direction of motion. Static friction acts when the
body is not moving relative to the surface. Kinetic friction acts
when the object is sliding over the surface. Static friction is
computed by the formula fs=sn, while kinetic friction has the
formula fk=kn.
The coefficient of static friction (s) is greater the nthe
coefficient of kinetic friction (k). As soon as the object starts to
slide, static friction no longer acts on the object and it turns to a
lower kinetic friction.
Angle of repose is defined as the minimum angle made by
an inclined plane with the horizontal such that an object placed
on the inclined surface just begins to slide. The tangent of the
angle of repose is equal to the coefficient of friction.
In the field of Civil engineering, friction is applied in frictional
resistance. Under a condition of sliding or tendency to slide when
un-lubricated surfaces of two solid bodies are in contact dry
friction or Coulombs friction is encountered. The major cause of
dry friction is believed to be the microscopic roughness of surface
of contact. Fluid friction occurs between layers within a fluid that
are moving relative to each other. This internal resistance to flow
is described by viscosity. Internal friction is found in all solid
materials that are subjected to cyclical loading.