TUNAS MUDA INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL

FRICTION AND SHOES

UNIT 1 PHYSICS LAB REPORT

Name/Class: Natalie and M Audrey/B10

 In this experiment, we are going to measure the friction of different
shoes by sliding it on a wooden ramp, then comparing which shoe has the
highest gripping power. Usually, the shoe that has the most friction has
more shoe surface touching the board then most of the other shoes. Also,
often the shoe with the least friction has the least amount of shoe
touching the board. Since friction is all about two things rubbing together,
the more surface thats rubbing, the more friction you get. It depends on
what kind of friction. Air friction, also called air resistance, only depends
on the shape of an object and how fast it's moving. Sliding friction of an
object, across a floor or down a ramp for instance, is exactly proportional
to the weight of the sliding object. Static friction, like when you're pushing
on an object and it isn't moving (try pushing a car when it's in park), only
pushes back as hard as it is pushed. Air friction, on the other hand, is
caused by an object having to move air out of it's path. That's why its size
and speed, not weight, that determines the force. A bigger object
encounters more air. A faster object encounters more air per second.

AIM

Our aim of this experiment is to find the shoe, which has the highest
gripping power (the highest friction). To find the shoe with the highest
friction, we will test 5 shoes and compare the results. We would also
consider the different materials that would affect the friction of the shoes.

HYPOTHESIS
Our hypothesis is that the basketball shoe will have the highest
gripping power among the other shoes.

VARIABLES
Independent/manipulated:
- Types of different shoes

Dependent/responding:
 - The height in which the shoe slides
- Weight of the shoes
- The friction of the shoes
- Angle of the board when the shoe slides

Controlled:
- Wooden board

Materials/Apparatus:
- A long ruler

- Wooden board (smooth)

- Pencil

- Paper

- 5 shoes

- Protractor

- Calculator

- (a tool to weigh the shoe with)

METHOD/PROCEDURES:
Finding the data:
- Prepare a wooden board (preferably smooth)
- Prepare a long ruler
- Prepare five different shoes (sport shoes, school shoes, etc)
- Prepare a protractor to count the angle in which the shoe
slides
- Lay the wooden board horizontally and the ruler alongside it
- Place a shoe on the wooden ramp
- Slowly and precisely lift up the wooden board until the shoe
slides
- See how high the wooden board is lifted up (b)
- Take note of this in a data table
- Calculate the angle a
- Repeat this method for the four other shoes
- Weigh the all of the shoes individually (mass)

Calculating to find friction:

 - Calculate tan (a)
- Calculate cos (a)
- Calculate weight x cos (a), which is the contact force
- Calculate [weight x cos (a)] x tan (a)

DATA TABLE:
Data of the shoes 1

Type of shoe Tan (a) Mass Cos (a)

School shoe Tan(25) = 0.47 0.75 kg Cos(25)= 0.9
Sport shoe Tan(40) = 0.84 0.55 kg Cos(40)=0.76
H&M shoe Tan(35) = 0.7 0.5 kg Cos(35)=0.81
Converse shoe Tan(45) = 1 0.6 kg Cos(45)=0.7
Basketball shoe Tan(30) = 0.58 1.1 kg Cos(30)=0.86
Data of the shoes 2
Type of shoe Height (b) * Angle (a) * Mass (c)
School shoe 1 22 cm 25 0.75 kg
Sport shoe 32 cm 40 0.6 kg
H&M shoe 29.5 kg 35 0.5 kg
Converse shoe 38 cm 45 0.6 kg
Basketball shoe 24 cm 30 1.1 Kg

* when the shoe starts to slide

Calculation
School shoe = [weight x cos (a)] x tan (a)
= (7.5 x 0.9) x 0.47
= 3.1725 N

Sport shoe = [mass x cos (a)] x tan (a)

= (5.5 x 0.76) x 0.84
= 3.5112 N
H&M shoe = [mass x cos (a)] x tan (a)
= (5 x 0.81) x 0.7
= 2.835 N

Converse shoe = [mass x cos (a)] x tan (a)

= (6 x 0.7) x 1
= 4.2 N

Basketball shoe = [mass x cos (a)] x tan (a)

= (11 x 0.86) x 0.58
= 5.48 N

Friction of the shoes

Type of shoe Friction
School shoe 3.1725 N
Sport shoe 3.5112 N
H&M shoe 2.835 N
Converse shoe 4.2 N
Basketball shoe 5.48 N

Friction of Shoes
0.6

0.5

0.4

0.3

0.2

0.1

0
School shoe Sport shoe H&M shoe Coverse Basketball shoe

ANALYSIS
From our experiment, we have found all the height (b), angle (a) and the
weight (c) of all the individual shoes. With all that data, we can find the
friction of the shoes, using the formula [N x cos (a)] x tan (a). After
inputting the data of the shoes on the formula, we got the friction of the
shoes. The friction of the school shoe is 3.1725 N, the friction of the sport
shoe is 3.5112 N, the friction of the H&M shoe is 2.835 N, the friction of
the converse shoe is 4.2 N and the friction of the basketball shoe is 5.48
N. The shoe with the lowest gripping power (lowest friction) is the H&M
shoe, which means that it has the most slippery soles. The shoe with the
highest gripping power (highest friction) is the basketball shoe, which
means that it has the least slippery soles (made out of rubber).
The wooden board is slippery to begin with, so the friction of all of these
shoes would be less, as the shoes would slide faster and the height (b)
would be less. The heavier shoes would also have more friction, therefore
have more gripping power.

CONCLUSION
According to the data and analysis, the hypothesis that we stated
above is correct. Our hypothesis is correct because, we predicted that the
basketball shoe would have the highest gripping power, and according to
the data above, the basketball shoe does have the highest friction.

EVALUATION
Natalie: I thought this experiment was interesting as we got to pick our
own partners. Besides that, we also got to chose and design the
experiments ourselves, so we got to pick the method that suited us the
most. We started quite early in this experiment, and at that time, we
werent introduced to the spring balance. Due to that, we used a quite
different method compared to what everyone else did, but we also got the
precise measurement for friction of the shoes. We found out later on that
our results for the friction was different that others results even though
we measured correctly and used the correct formula as well. We have
tried confirming our results with the teacher, the Internet and books as
well but it still was the same.

Audrey: Think this experiment is very fun, and I really enjoyed doing this
with my partner Natalie. We started off by using 5 pieces of shoes and we
put each shoe one by one of the wooden board and slowly with one side of
the board, we lift it and see the friction. Then we measure the height when
the shoe starts to slip. We also measured the angle for more precise
measurement. Then lastly we weigh the shoes and then we did some
counting. So basically I think its a really simple task that we can manage
to do, its simple and it means a lot. So over all I think this experiment is a
success and we really enjoyed it.
Resources:
www.thesciencehouse.org
www.bitesizephysics.comffden-2.phys.uaf.edu
ffden-2.phys.uaf.edu
www.icteachers.co.uk/children/sats/friction.htm
www.physics4kids.com/files/motion_friction.htm