The unit for force is the Newton (named after Sir Isaac Newton), which is equal to 1 (kg)(m) / s2. The coefficient of friction, symbolized by the Greek letter µ (“mu”), is dimensionless, which means it has no units. Dimensionless numbers help scientists, mathematicians, and engineers compare the same characteristic in different objects. In essence, the coefficient of friction describes how easily one object can move over another. Your swimsuit against a water slide has a low coefficient of friction, and so do ice skate blades on ice. We think of these objects as slippery. The rubber of car wheels on the street has a higher coefficient of friction, which is why when there is no force applied the car eventually stops moving. And even higher coefficient of friction can be seen by a big boulder in nature, you can push and push but the coefficient of friction is so large and the normal force of the rock is so big that you might not be able to move the rock at all.

The normal force of an object is the force that is perpendicular to the surface of the side of the object that is in contact with the surface that is causing the frictional force. For example, if you have a block moving horizontally on flat ground, the normal force points at a 90° angle out of the ground.

Bookmark this to easily find it later. Then send your curated collection to your children, or put together your own custom lesson plan.

Placing down smooth straws with the ability to roll along the ground will create much less friction and allow the balloon car to travel farther.

Warning - you are about to disable cookies. If you decide to create an account with us in the future, you will need to enable cookies before doing so.

It is important to measure to the same spot on the balloon car every time so you can reliably compare distance across different parts of the experiment. Comparing measurements from the starting point to the back of the box in one trial and to the front of the box in another trial would not be a meaningful comparison.

Where Ff is the force of friction, FN is the force normal to the object that is moving, and µ is the coefficient of friction.

Facebook        Instagram        Twitter        About Us        Terms        Privacy Policy

Smooth, flat surfaces like wood floors or kitchen countertops will have small coefficients of friction when compared to rougher, more uneven surfaces like concrete, grass, and carpet.

This item is non-returnable. If you have any questions before you order, just get in touch with us and we'll help you make sure it's right for you.

Newton’s First Law of Motion states that when an object is set in motion, it will remain in motion until acted on by an outside force. Theoretically, this could mean you could travel at the same speed forever in one direction, right? The reason we don’t see this happen is because of friction. The force of friction is the resistance to motion that is in the opposite direction of the traveling object. This is why if you roll a ball on the ground it eventually stops. Friction is also the reason you can hold a book, and the reason why you don’t slip when walking! The ground and other solid surfaces can cause friction, called dry friction, but fluids (liquids and gases) like water and air can also cause frictional forces, called fluid friction.

When you used the straw runway, you essentially created a simple machine with wheels. When you are trying to move the shoebox while it is on a flat surface, you are working against sliding friction. Wheels and round objects bring in a different kind of friction called rolling friction. The coefficient of rolling friction is much smaller and much easier to overcome than the coefficient of sliding friction.

In order to ease delivery of your digital music purchase, and to keep your music purchase out of your spam folder, simply add info@drawingroomrecords.com to your address book.

Smooth surfaces create the least amount of friction and are the easiest type of surfaces to travel on. Coefficients of friction, which are properties of a material, are lowest here. Putting the “sleigh rails” on the bottom of the box reduces the frictional force even more because there is a much smaller area of contact, which is means there is a smaller area upon which the frictional force is acting.

The sixth release in Drawing Room’s cassette series and third in the CF trilogy… “As Country Florist, Andrew Morgan shows us a twisted pop side critical for mankind's survival. Although his prior releases have been slantingly rock centric, CF-3 ventures far over into Mr. Morgan’s rhythmic side. It’s minimal DJ culture that’s not heavily DJ cultured. It’s disco without disco if you catch the lingo. For those more familiar with Mr. Morgan’s work with CHINESE GIRLS, the sounds of CF-3 may come as a surprise. For those versed in Mr. Morgan’s ETTIEM persona, these new tunes are more of his heartbeat focused on/off dance floor tracks you will expect and then need. For everyone, it’s all quite addictive. Conceived as a trilogy of sorts, CF-3 represents Andrew Morgan’s third public offering of his intimate songbook.” The first edition cassette of CF-3 is strictly limited to 100 copies and is sleeved in the most amazing vibrant shades of red. An unlimited download version is also available.