Friction Friction: When one surface is moving over another surface, a force comes into play and opposes their relative motion. This force is called friction or force of friction. Friction always opposes motion because it acts in opposite direction to motion. Force of friction arises due to contact between two surfaces. If there is no contact between two surfaces there would be no friction. Factors Affecting Friction: Irregularities on surfaces: Friction is created because of irregularities on surfaces. The irregularities on surfaces result in interlocking of two surfaces. The interlocking between two surfaces creates friction. Hence, the force of friction will be greater in case of rough surface than in case of smooth surface. Pressure Between two Surfaces: The force of friction increases with increase in pressure between two surfaces. You must have seen that moving a heavy box is difficult compared to moving a light box. Pressure is higher in case of a heavy box. Types of Friction: Static Friction: The minimum amount of force that is required to overcome the force of friction is called static friction. In other words, the minimum force that is required to make an object moving is called static friction. ¢ Sliding Friction: Once an object starts moving ona surface, some force is required to keep the object moving. The minimum force that is required to keep a moving object in motion at a constant speed is called sliding friction. Sliding friction is always less than static friction. Due to this, it is easier to push a moving box compared to pushing a static box.. Rolling Friction: When an object rolls over a surface, the friction created is called rolling friction. Rolling friction is less than sliding friction. Static friction > Sliding friction > Rolling friction Friction: A Necessary Evil Friction is all pervasive. Even a simple task; like writing on a page; cannot be done without friction. Walking on road won't be possible because friction. But friction causes wear and tear of materials, and wastage of energy. Thus, friction is beneficial as well as harmful. Hence, friction is called a necessary evil. Benefits of Friction ¢ It is not possible to even walk on the road; in the absence of friction. Walking on ice is almost impossible because of lack of friction. ¢ Friction is necessary to keep a ladder against a wall. The ladder will not find grip against the wall in the absence of friction. ¢ It is very difficult to drive on a wet road because of less friction. A thin film of water is made over the surface of road. This thin film of water greatly reduces friction. Due to this, the driver finds it difficult to control the vehicle while driving on a wet road. Harms of Friction It results in wear and tear of shoes and tyres, machine parts, clothes, etc. It causes monetary loss. ¢ Heat is generated by friction, which results in wastage of energy. Moreover, a significant amount of energy is wasted in overcoming friction. Ways to Increase Friction¢ Rubber grips are put on bicycle handles, electrical tools and on many other tools. Increased friction helps in giving better grip on these objects. « A surface can be made rough with the help of sand paper; in order to increase friction. ¢ Soles of shoes are made rough to increase friction. This helps in providing better grip on surface while walking. ¢ Treads of tyres are deliberately made so that a good road grip can be achieved with the help of friction. ¢ Holding a bottle cap with a thick towel helps in increasing friction. Increased friction makes it easier to open the bottle cap. Ways to Reduce Friction ¢ Lubricating oil and grease are used in machines to reduce friction between moving parts. « Some machines use air cushion for reducing friction because use of oil is not ideal in such machines. ¢ Graphite powder is used in some machines to reduce friction. ¢ Ball bearing coverts sliding friction into rolling friction. You have read that rolling friction is less than sliding friction. Thus, ball bearing helps in reducing friction. Fluid Friction When an object moves through a fluid, the fluids create friction. Friction created by a fluid is called fluid friction or drag. Force of friction is directly proportional to the density of a fluid. Hence, friction in oil will be greater than in water. Similarly, friction in water will be greater than that in air. Streamlined Shape: A shape which is wide in middle and tapered at ends is called a streamlined shape. Such a shape reduces drag or fluid friction. Hence, a streamlined body can easily move through a fluid. Birds and fish are naturally endowed with streamlined body. Boats and airplanes arealso made streamlined so that they can easily move through air or water. NCERT Solution Question 1: Fill in the blanks: ¢ Friction opposes the between the surfaces in contact with each other. ¢ Friction depends on the of surfaces. Friction produces Sprinkling of powder on the c carrom board friction. ¢ Sliding friction is than the static friction. Answer: (a) movement, (b) irregularities, (c) heat, (d) reduce, (e) less Question 2: Four children were asked to arrange forces due to rolling, static and sliding frictions in a decreasing order. Their arrangements are given below. Choose the correct arrangement. « Rolling, static, sliding ¢ Rolling, sliding, static Static, sliding, rolling ¢ Sliding, static, rolling Answer: (c) Static, sliding, rolling Question 3: Alida runs her toy car on dry marble floor, wet marble floor, newspaper and towel spread on the floor. The force of friction acting on the car on different surfaces in increasing order will be: ¢ Wet marble floor, dry marble floor, newspaper and towel. « Newspaper, towel, dry marble floor, wet marble floor. « Towel, newspaper, dry marble floor, wet marble floor.« Wet marble floor, dry marble floor, towel, newspaper Answer: (a) Wet marble floor, dry marble floor, newspaper and towel. Question 4: Suppose your writing desk is tilted a little. A book kept on it starts sliding down. Show the direction of frictional force acting on it. Answer: Force of friction NN Motion Question 5: You spill a bucket of soapy water on a marble floor accidently. Would it make it easier or more difficult for you to walk on the floor? Why? Answer: The soapy water would make a thin layer over the marble floor. This will reduce friction. Hence, walking on the floor shall be difficult in that case. Question 6: Explain why sportsmen use shoes with spikes. Answer: Shoes with spikes offer more friction because of more irregularities in the surface. This gives better grip to sportsmen while running. Question 7: Iqbal has to push a lighter box and Seema has to push a similar heavier box on the same floor. Who will have to apply a larger force and why? Answer: Seema has to apply larger force, because friction increases with increase in weight.Question 8: Explain why the sliding friction is less than the static friction. Answer: When something is static, a greater force is required to break the interlocking between two surfaces. When something is in motion, there is no need to break the interlocking and a smaller force is required the keep the object in motion. Hence, sliding friction is less than static friction. Question 9: Give examples to show that friction is both a friend and a foe. Answer: Following two examples show that friction is both a friend and a foe: ¢ Because of friction a vehicle can be stopped and we can walk, thus friction is a friend. ¢ Friction wears out the parts of machine, thus friction is a foe. Question 10: Explain why objects moving in fluids must have special shapes. Answer: The streamlined shape encounters less resistance while moving through a fluid. This is not true for other shapes. So, objects moving in the fluids must have special shapes like boat or fish. Question 1: It is easier to open a bottle cap by gripping it with a towel. Why? Answer: Rough surface of towel helps in increasing friction, and thus provides a better grip. The towel, thus, makes it easier to open the bottle cap. Question 2: Why is it difficult to drive on a wet road? Answer: It is very difficult to drive on a wet road because of less friction. A thin film of water is made over the surface of road. This thin film of water greatly reduces friction. Due tothis, the driver finds it difficult to control the vehicle while driving on a wet road. Question 3: How does sand paper help in increasing friction? Answer: A smooth surface can be made rough with the help of sandpaper. There are more irregularities on a rough surface than on a smooth surface. Thus, sand paper helps in increasing friction; by increasing the roughness of a surface. Question 4: Why is it difficult to write on a glass surface? Answer: Glass surface is so smooth that it does not provide friction to the tip of the pen. Hence, it is difficult to write ona glass surface. Question 5: Why is friction said to be a necessary evil? Answer: Friction is all pervasive. Even a simple task; like writing on a page; cannot be done without friction. Walking on road won't be possible because friction. But friction causes wear and tear of materials, and wastage of energy. Thus, friction is beneficial as well as harmful. Hence, friction is called a necessary evil. Question 6: Boats and aeroplanes are made in streamlined shape. Why? Answer: A shape which is wide in middle and tapered at ends is called a streamlined shape. Such a shape reduces drag or fluid friction. Hence, a streamlined body can easily move through a fluid. Birds and fish are naturally endowed with streamlined body. Boats and airplanes are also made streamlined so that they can easily move through air or water. Question 1: Discuss different types of friction. Answer: Following are the three types of friction: ¢ Static Friction: The minimum amount of force that is required to overcome the force of friction is called static friction. In other words, the minimum force that isrequired to make an object moving is called static friction. ¢ Sliding Friction: Once an object starts moving ona surface, some force is required to keep the object moving. The minimum force that is required to keep a moving object in motion at a constant speed is called sliding friction. Sliding friction is always less than static friction. Due to this, it is easier to push a moving box compared to pushing a static box. ¢ Rolling Friction: When an object rolls over a surface, the friction created is called rolling friction. Rolling friction is less than sliding friction. Question 2: Discuss the benefits of friction. Answer: Benefits of friction are as follows: Itis not possible to even walk on the road; in the absence of friction. Walking on ice is almost impossible because of lack of friction. e Friction is necessary to keep a ladder against a wall. The ladder will not find grip against the wall in the absence of friction. ¢ It is very difficult to drive on a wet road because of less friction. A thin film of water is made over the surface of road. This thin film of water greatly reduces friction. Due to this, the driver finds it difficult to control the vehicle while driving on a wet road. Question 3: Discuss the harms of friction. Answer: Following are the harms of friction: ¢ It results in wear and tear of shoes and tyres, machine parts, clothes, etc. It causes monetary loss. ¢ Heat is generated by friction, which results in wastage of energy. Moreover, a significant amount of energy is wasted in overcoming friction. Question 4: Suggest some methods to increase friction.Answer: Some methods to reduce friction are as follows: « Rubber grips are put on bicycle handles, electrical tools and on many other tools. Increased friction helps in giving better grip on these objects. « A surface can be made rough with the help of sand paper; in order to increase friction. ¢ Soles of shoes are made rough to increase friction. This helps in providing better grip on surface while walking. « Treads of tyres are deliberately made so that a good road grip can be achieved with the help of friction. ¢ Holding a bottle cap with a thick towel helps in increasing friction. Increased friction makes it easier to open the bottle cap. Question 5: Suggest some methods to reduce friction. Answer: Some methods to reduce friction are as follows: ¢ Lubricating oil and grease are used in machines to reduce friction between moving parts. « Some machines use air cushion for reducing friction because use of oil is not ideal in such machines. ¢ Graphite powder is used in some machines to reduce friction. ¢ Ball bearing coverts sliding friction into rolling friction. You have read that rolling friction is less than sliding friction. Thus, ball bearing helps in reducing friction.