EM-230 | Friction on Inclined Plane

Friction experiments on the inclined plane help students to understand the fundamentals of mechanical friction. The main elements are a sliding surface (the inclined plane), with an adjustable angle of inclination, and different samples. A sample is moved from the stationary state to the sliding state in two ways. In the first experiment, the plane is carefully tilted until the sample begins to slide downwards and the downward force is greater than the static friction force. In the second experiment, a load acts as a tensile force upon the sample. The load is gradually increased until the sample begins to slide in a uniform motion.

Learning Objectives

• Determination of the friction coefficients of various material pairings
• Transition from static to dynamic
• Static equilibrium of forces on the inclined plane
• Determination of the angle of inclination as from which sliding occurs (calculation and verification by experiment)