IA LAb Write UP

IB Friction Lab Write Up

3. The slope of my graph represents the constant value for myu as the Normal Force and the force of friction are constantly changing.

4. The kinetic slope is the biggest by far because it represents the less coefficient of friction it has to overcome to move easier.

5. According to my data table, an increase in weight always, without fail, creates a greater force of friction.

6. An increase in weight does not affect the coefficient of friction by also increasing it, although theoretically it shouldn't affect it at all because myu is constant.

7. If sandpaper were glued to the bottom of the block then, the coefficient of friction would increase because its a different surface and also because the force of friction is increasing.

8. One way to decrease the friction is to lubricate the block and table top, and also another way is to decrease the mass of the object which would in turn decrease the friction between the two objects.

Conclusion:

In this particular experiment, the determinate was to determine the coefficient of friction against a certain object. Between individual data points there was not so large of a range, maybe a tenth of a Newton at most. The slopes of the graphs were very representative of the final measurements or calculations for the greek letter myu. They told a pretty convincing tale in that the lines of best fit, ran very nicely through the data points.

There were a few definite possible sources of error. One of these was the fact that the measurement tools we used were hardly accurate or precise. It was extremely hard to perceive the newton force from the weight when it was spilling left and right over and over again. For example some of the percentages of percent error were extremely large in that some were above 50% error (62.7%), which means they were half incorrect. This is a large number that could be corrected. Also, the weights, although pretty precise, could not have weighed their true amounts and that extra gram could have skewered the results. The experiment could have used higher grade materials and equipment to help settle good results.

There are a couple things that can be done differently in the lab. One thing that would could be done differently would be to take much more data. Theoretically, you could take an infinite amount of data which would render the most accurate and substantiated results. Although this is most impractical in the real world. Also you could have used a digital meter that read and recorded info on a graph when the object was pulled. This would have enabled for the most accurate recording of data. This would record the maximum values and average a constant using non rounded numbers for the most accurate amount of data. Another way ti achieve more accurate data would be to have had a robotic arm that was programmed to run the (now perfect) weights at a constant speed that is ever constant. I would also make sure the surface was perfectly flat to make sure that there is not existing forces acting upon the object. These things would make the lab a lot more accurate than it was before.