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Frictional Forces - Notes

Frictional force opposes the motion of an object and is proportional to the normal force, independent of surface area, and varies by surface type. There are two types of friction: static, which acts on stationary objects, and kinetic, which acts on moving objects. The frictional force on an inclined plane is less than on a horizontal surface, and as the slope increases, the normal force and consequently the frictional force decrease.

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11 views3 pages

Frictional Forces - Notes

Frictional force opposes the motion of an object and is proportional to the normal force, independent of surface area, and varies by surface type. There are two types of friction: static, which acts on stationary objects, and kinetic, which acts on moving objects. The frictional force on an inclined plane is less than on a horizontal surface, and as the slope increases, the normal force and consequently the frictional force decrease.

Uploaded by

qhamisantantiso96
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Definition 1: FRICTIONAL FORCE (f):

• It is the force that opposes the motion of an object, and which acts parallel to the surface.
IMPORTANT:
Frictional force is…
1. proportional to the normal force. It INCREASES if the normal force increases.
2. INDEPENDENT OF THE AREA OF THE SURFACES that are in contact with each
other.
3. different for different kinds of surfaces.
THERE ARE TYPES OF FRICTION: STATIC AND KINETIC FRICTION:
Definition 2: STATIC FRICTIONAL FORCE (fs):
• It is the force that opposes the tendency of motion of a stationary object relative to a
surface.
NB!
• If a force, F, applied to an object parallel to the surface, does not cause the object to move,
F is EQUAL in magnitude to the static frictional force.
• The static frictional force is a maximum, , just before the object starts to
move across the surface.
• The maximum static frictional force, , is equal to the magnitude of the maximum
horizontal force that can be applied to the object without it starting to move across the surface.
• If the applied force exceeds , a net force accelerates the object.

SOLVE PROBLEMS USING THE FORMULA:

Where:
• is the maximum static frictional force
• is the coefficient of static friction (which is constant for a particular surface)
Definition 3: KINETIC FRICTIONAL FORCE (fk):
It is the force that opposes the motion of a moving object relative to a surface.
SOLVE PROBLEMS USING THE FORMULA:

Where:
• is the kinetic frictional force
• is the coefficient of kinetic friction (which is constant for a particular surface)
FRICTION ON AN INCLINED PLANE:
On an inclined plane the frictional force is LESS than on a horizontal surface.

Free-body diagram for a STATIONARY object Free-body diagram for an object sliding DOWN
on a rough surface. a rough surface.
Friction is always in the OPPOSITE DIRECTION the object is moving / is about to move!!

Remember: The steeper the slope the LESS the friction!

Explanation:
• The coefficient of friction (µs / µk) is constant for a specific surface.

• If: OR (Whichever one is applicable!)


• then fk ∝ N
• Where the N = Fgcosθ (on an incline)
• So if the angle θ of the plane increases (towards 90°), cosθ decreases (cos 90° = 0, which
makes the normal N = 0 N).
• the normal force N decreases.
• Hence the frictional force decreases.

GRAPH OF STATIC FRICTIONAL FORCE vs NORMAL FORCE (Direct proportion):


GRAPH OF STATIC AND KINETIC FRICTIONAL FORCE VS APPLIED FORCE θ

Kinetic frictional force is ALWAYS LESS than maximum static frictional force!!

DO AVTIVITY 3, PAGE 39, NUMBER 7,8 and 9.

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