FRICTIONAL FORCES

Friction is a force which opposes motion. ) All types of surface like solid, liquid
and air offer the force of friction. Friction force always applies in the opposite
direction of movement.
When two bodies in contact are pushed or pulled against each other there
exists opposition to motion.
For example, if a block of wood is placed on table it will remain at rest unless
its acted upon by an external force. The applied force must exceed maximum
friction between block of wood and table if block of wood is to be moved along
the table.
Frictional forces between two surfaces in contact exists only when there is
relative motion between two contacting surfaces. Friction between two
surfaces exists because of the nature of surfaces of bodies in contact.

The Frictional force acts in the opposite direction of the motion of the
object. The force of Friction opposes the relative motion between the
surfaces of two moving objects.
Causes of friction
 Molecular Adhesion
is a molecular force that arises when two materials are brought close to each other.

 Surface Roughness
How friction produce heat.
Friction Produces heat that's why rubbing your hands together makes them
warmer. Friction causes the molecules on rubbing surfaces to move faster,
so they have more energy. This gives them a higher temperature, and they
feel warmer. Heat from friction can be useful.

Advantages and Disadvantages of frictional forces.

Friction has many disadvantages
1. Friction causes machinery to heat up and can cause wear and tear.
2. It makes machinery less efficient.
 3. Friction cause machine to produce noise.
Advantages of friction
Friction can also be very useful
1. It allows us to walk on the earth surface .When we walk, friction
between our shoes and the surfaces we are walking on stops us from
slipping over.
2. Friction between car tyres and the road helps the car to stay on the
road.
3. It allows us to write with a pen on a surface or a paper.
4. It allows us to fix a nail in the wall.
5. A moving object would never be able to come to the state of rest
without the Frictional force.
Disadvantages of Frictional Force
 Frictional force results in wear and tear of objects such as the moving
parts of a machine, the tyres of a vehicle, sole of the shoes etc.
 It also results in the production of heat. In the case of machines, the
production of heat leads to wastage of energy.
 The Frictional force also leads to a decrease in the speed of a moving
object or some time stops it.
 It can lead to noise pollution in certain cases. For instance,
aircrafts produce loud sound due to the resistance of the air
Methods of reducing friction

Friction is undesirable in machinery because it causes wear and tear. Rollers,

wheels and lubrication helps to reduce friction. Sometimes in order to have a
smooth movement of an object we need to reduce Friction. For example,
Roller is a simple cylinder on which a body to be pulled rests. Sliding friction is
eliminated using rollers.
1. Lubrication reduce friction. Friction between surfaces can be reduced
smoothing and polishing the surfaces in contact. In order to make
surfaces slippery, lubricant such as oil is used. Oil and grease are
commonly used in vehicle and machine to reduce friction between
moving parts.
2. Proper selection of materials: Friction depends on nature of materials.
We normally use materials which form low friction combinations, For
example machine bearings are made of one metal(e.g bronze) while
rotating shaft is made from other metal(e.g steel) Similarly tyres are
made of rubber because rubber-road forms low friction combinations.
 3. Wheels are rollers that are fixed to moving body, held in a place by
cylinders or axles threaded through their Centre. Both cylindrical rollers
and wheels eliminate sliding friction

Types of Friction
There are two types of friction which are static friction and kinetic friction
1. Static Friction: Static Friction - force of friction that must be
overcome to move an object at rest Or is the Frictional force that
comes into play until an object starts moving is called static Friction. An
object has to overcome the static Friction force in order to start its
movement. Consider block of wood lying on horizontal surface. If we
apply small horizontal force(say 1N) on the block and the block does not
move, it means that a force(=1N) has come into play to oppose motion.
This is a force of friction and is called static friction (Fs).As the applied
force is increased, the static friction also increases (being always equal
and opposite to applied force) till the stage is reached when a block is
about to move. The value of static friction is now ,maximum and and is
called limiting friction or critical friction (Fc).Limiting friction is a maximum
static friction that comes into plays when one body just at the verge of
moving over the surface of other.
2. Kinetic Friction - force of friction that opposes a moving object. Kinetic
friction is weaker than static friction. fk < fs. Kinetic friction is also called
dynamic friction
3. Sliding Friction: Sliding Friction comes into play whenever an object
moves along the surface of another object. Such a movement is called
‘slide’. Hence, sliding Friction is the force that opposes the movement or
slide of an object.
4. Rolling Friction: When an object is rolling on a surface the force of
Friction which acts upon it is called rolling Friction.
5. Fluid Friction: When an object moves in a fluid, the fluid exerts a fluid
Friction upon the object. It is also called air Friction (when the medium of
travel is air) and viscous Friction (when the medium of travel is water).
Normal reaction and limiting friction
Two terms associated with friction are limiting friction and normal reaction
Limiting friction is numerically equal to minimum external force require to
make one body just move over another. Normal reaction is equal and opposite
to component of weight of body perpendicular to surface on which it rest.
Consider a block of mass m lying on horizontal surfaces as shown below.
R

mg

The normal reaction R is perpendicular force exerted by the surface on block.

Clearly,
R=mg
If Fc is limiting friction (maximum static friction) Then according to laws of
friction, Fc is directly proportional to normal reaction R

Fc=µsR
 Where µs is called co-efficient of static friction.
µs=Limiting friction(FC)/Normal reaction(R)
Laws of friction
The following are laws of friction
1. Friction depends on a nature of surfaces in contact
2. Friction does not depend on the surface areas in contact.
3. The ration of limiting friction to normal reaction is constant for two
surfaces in contact.

FACTOR WHICH AFFECT FRICTION

1. The irregularities of a surface: If we move an object with has an
irregular or rough surface on another surface which is also irregular, the
force of Friction will be high in this case and the movement of the object
would be restricted.
2. The regularity of a surface or its smoothness: If the surfaces of either
the objects or are smooth, the force of Friction would be less and the
object would move easily over the surface. Even smooth surfaces have
a certain irregularity.
3. If two surfaces are pressed hard: the force of Friction increases
between two surfaces if they are pressed hard and hence the movement
of the object becomes restricted. However, if there is no pressure the
object can easily move.

4.

Coefficient of Dynamic Friction

Is a ration of friction between two surfaces when they are in relative motion to
normal reaction.
Coefficient of static friction Is defined as a ratio of limiting friction to normal
reaction.
Coefficient of static friction is always greater than that of dynamic friction.
Coefficient of dynamic friction is given by,
µ=Frictional force(F)/Normal reaction(R).
Friction Equations
Static friction: fs = usFn
Kinetic friction: fk = ukFn

Find the Normal Force

N = mg
Where N is normal force
M is mass
G is acceleration due to gravity
. In case of an inclined surface, the strength of the normal surface is reduced the more the
surface is inclined, hence the formula becomes:
N = mg cos(θ)

Example 01
Find a static friction between block of wood of mass 10kg and table on which it
rests. A minimum force of 50N is required to make the block just move on
table top.
Soln
Data analysis
Limiting Friction(F)=50N
Normal Reaction (R)=10X10=100N
Hence Coefficient of static friction is given by
µ=F/R
µ=50/100
µ=0.5
Example 02
A mass is placed on an inclined plane such that it moves at constant speed
when tapped lightly.
If the angle of planes make with horizontal is 30o, Find coefficient of dynamic
friction
Solution
The Coefficient of friction is tan 30o=0.56.

Example 03
A large block of ice is being pulled across a frozen lake. The block of ice has a mass of
300 kg. The coefficient of friction between two ice surfaces is small: μk = 0.05. What is
the force of friction that is acting on the block of ice?
Solution: On a flat surface, the normal force on an object is given by N = mg.
With this, we can find the force of friction as follows:
Ff =μN
Ff =μmg
Substituting the values in the above equation we get,
Ff =0.05 × 300 kg × 9.8 m/s2
= 147 kg-m/s2 or 147 N.
The force of friction acting in the opposite direction as the block of ice is pulled across the
lake is 147 N.
Example 04
A man has to push his boat on the shore across the mud to get to the water. The
coefficient of friction between the boat and the mud is given by μ = 0.400. If the boat has
a mass of 40 kg, calculate the magnitude of the force of friction acting on the boat.
Solution: On a flat surface, the normal force on an object is N = mg.
Using this, we can calculate the force of friction as follows:
F = μN F = μ mg Substituting the values in the equation, we get F = (0.400)(40.0 kg)(9.80
m/s2)
F = 156.8 N
The frictional force acting on the boat is 156.8 N.
Example 05
What is the normal reaction of a body of mass 40kg placed on inclined plane
of angle 45o?
Take g=10ms-2,cos 45o=0.7071,sin 45o=0.7071,tan 45o=1
Soln
R=Wcoso-
But,W=mg
W=40kgx10m/s2
W=400N
R=400X0.7071
282.04N
Therefore, the normal reaction is 282.04N

Exercise
1. What is normal reaction of a body of mass 10kg placed on an inclined
plane of angle 30o?
2. A concrete block of mass 10kg rest on table.it found that when
horizontal force of 4Kg weight pulls the mass, it just begins to slide on
a table. Find coefficient of static friction.
3. Explain why It is difficult task to move on a wet muddy track, or wet
marble floor?
4. Why is kinetic friction less than the limiting friction?
5. Why do smoother surfaces produce less friction?
6. Q: Heavier objects also have more friction. Can you explain
why?
7. A: Heavier objects press together with greater force, and this
causes greater friction between them. Have you ever tried to
push furniture across the floor? It's harder to overcome friction
between a heavier piece of furniture and the floor than between
lighter pieces and the floor
8. How is friction reduced between the moving parts inside a car
engine?
9. A: To reduce friction, oil is added to the engine. The oil coats
the surfaces of the moving parts and makes them slippery. They
slide over each other more easily, so there is less friction.
10.