Experimentally Graphing the Force of Friction

The video tutorial explains the forces acting on a wooden block, including gravity, normal force, tension, and static friction. It demonstrates how to graph these forces and sum them in the x direction. The tutorial further explores the transition from static to kinetic friction as the block begins to move, highlighting the differences in friction coefficients. The video concludes with an analysis of graphs showing the relationship between static and kinetic friction, emphasizing that it is harder to initiate motion than to maintain it.

Which force acts upwards on the wooden block in the free body diagram?

• Force of gravity

• Normal force

• Force of tension

• Force of static friction

What happens to the net force in the x direction when the block is stationary?

• It equals the normal force

• It equals the force of gravity

• It equals the force of tension

• It equals zero

What does the graph of force of tension as a function of time represent when the block is not moving?

• Kinetic friction over time

• Normal force over time

• Force of static friction over time

• Force of gravity over time

Why does the force of tension decrease when the block starts moving?

• The block becomes lighter

• The coefficient of static friction is less than kinetic friction

• The coefficient of static friction is greater than kinetic friction

• The normal force increases

What does the graph illustrate about the difficulty of moving an object?

• The force required is constant

• It is harder to start moving an object than to keep it moving

• The force required decreases over time

• It is easier to start moving an object than to keep it moving