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Friction, Statics, Mechanics Revision Notes From A-Level Maths Tutor

The force that opposes motion is called friction.The laws of friction are explained in full together with the coefficient of friction and the angle of friction.Examples to illustrate.

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5K views4 pages

Friction, Statics, Mechanics Revision Notes From A-Level Maths Tutor

The force that opposes motion is called friction.The laws of friction are explained in full together with the coefficient of friction and the angle of friction.Examples to illustrate.

Uploaded by

A-level Maths Tutor
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Statics Mechanics topic notes

A-level Maths Tutor www.a-levelmathstutor.com [email protected]

Statics : Friction

Friction is the force that opposes movement.

The 3 Laws of Friction

1.

The limiting frictional force ( FL )is directly proportional to the


normal contact force ( N )

note: limiting frictional force is the maximum frictional force

2.

The ratio of the limiting frictional force ( FL ) to the normal


contact force ( N ) is called the coefficient of friction (µ )

A-level Maths Tutor www.a-levelmathstutor.com [email protected]


Statics Mechanics topic notes

A-level Maths Tutor www.a-levelmathstutor.com [email protected]

3.

When there is no motion, but the object is on the point of moving,

applied force = frictional force(limiting friction)

and when there is motion,

applied force > frictional force(limiting friction)

then this equality applies:

FL = µ N

Up to this point, when the frictional force is less than limiting


friction(maximum)*, then the inequality below applies.

FL< µ N

*object is static and not on the point of moving

Example #1

A flat stone is thrown horizontally across a frozen lake.


If the stone decelerates at 2.5 ms-2 , what is the coefficient of
friction between the stone and the ice? (take g=10 ms-2)

A-level Maths Tutor www.a-levelmathstutor.com [email protected]


Statics Mechanics topic notes

A-level Maths Tutor www.a-levelmathstutor.com [email protected]

Example #2

A 2 kg mass in limiting equilibrium rests on a rough plane inclined


at an angle of 30 deg. to the horizontal.
Show that the coefficient of friction between the mass and the plane
is √3 / 3 .

A-level Maths Tutor www.a-levelmathstutor.com [email protected]


Statics Mechanics topic notes

A-level Maths Tutor www.a-levelmathstutor.com [email protected]

The Angle of Friction

If we examine the normal reaction force( N ) and the frictional


force( FL ) when it is limiting, then the equation FL = µ N applies.

If the resultant between N and FL is R , and it is inclined at an angle


α(alpha) to the normal N, then we can write equations for FL and N
in terms of R .

-1
In example #2(above) the angle of friction = tan (√3 / 3)
= tan -1(0.5773) = 30o (the angle of the plane)

A-level Maths Tutor www.a-levelmathstutor.com [email protected]

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