Opposing Friction

Opposing Friction Physical Science Name: ________________________________________________ Period: _______ Date: ___________ Essential Question: How do I oppose friction? Friction, the force or resistance that opposes the movement of one body or substance against another. Friction between solids is usually caused by irregularities in sliding surfaces, but sometimes by adhesion (sticking) or electrical attraction. Friction between fluids is usually caused by their viscosity (resistance to flowing). If there were no friction, walking would be impossible and cars would spin their wheels without moving. Friction holds nails and screws in wood, and the operation of all brakes depends on friction. Friction between belts and pulleys is important in the operation of many machines. Friction between moving parts of machines, however, is undesirable. It wastes energy that could otherwise be used to perform work, produces heat, and can cause considerable wear. Friction can never be entirely eliminated, but it can be reduced by smoothing sliding surfaces or applying a lubricant such as oil. Measures of friction are based on the type of materials that are in contact. Concrete on concrete has a very high coefficient of friction. That coefficient is a measure of how easily one object moves in relationship to another. When you have a high coefficient of friction, you have a lot of friction between the materials. Concrete on concrete has a very high coefficient, and Teflon on most things has a very low coefficient. Teflon is used on surfaces where we don't want things to stick; such as pots and pans. Scientists have discovered that there is even less friction in your joints than in Teflon! It is one more example at how efficient living organisms can be. There are four types of friction. Type of Friction Definitions Static Friction when a force is applied to an object example: pushing on a wall, the wall does not move. Fluid Friction occurs when a object moves through a fluid ( liquid or gas ), meaning either a liquid or gas examples: skydiving, swimming Sliding Friction occurs when solid surfaces example: falling/sliding on the pavement Rolling Friction occurs when an object rolls over another (something with wheels or that is circular like a ball) example: riding a motorcycle, the wheels roll. but it slide does not over cause it each to move other In general, more force is required in overcoming friction to start an object moving across a surface than to keep it moving. Once the object is moving, the friction acting on the object (that is, the force opposing its motion) is directly proportional to the force with which the object presses against the surface. For example, doubling the weight of an object sliding across a surface will double the force with which the object presses against the surface and therefore double the friction that must be overcome to keep the object moving. The ratio of the friction acting on an object to the force with which the object presses against a surface is called the coefficient of friction. Its value depends on the materials in contact. The greater the friction between two materials, the higher is the coefficient. Knowledge of the coefficient of friction between materials is useful to engineers in designing the moving parts of machines and in calculating the amount of power necessary to operate them. Clarifying Questions: 1. What is the force that opposes the movement of an object? The force that opposes the movement of an object is called friction. _________________________________________________________________________________________ 2. What causes friction between solids? Friction between solids is caused by irregularities in their surfaces coming into contact with each other. ___________________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________ 3. What cause friction between fluids ( liquid and gas)? Friction between fluids (liquids and gases) is caused by viscosity, which is the resistance to flow within the fluid. _______________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________ 4. What would happen if there is no friction? If there were no friction, objects would not be able to stay in place, making it difficult to walk, drive, or even hold _______________________________________________________________________________________ objects securely. _______________________________________________________________________________________ 5. How is friction considered undesirable for machines? Friction is undesirable for machines because it causes wear and tear on their moving parts, leading to inefficiency _______________________________________________________________________________________ and potentially damaging the machine over time. _______________________________________________________________________________________ 6. How can friction be lessened? Friction can be lessened by using lubricants, polishing surfaces to make them smoother, or using materials with lower _______________________________________________________________________________________ coefficients of friction. _______________________________________________________________________________________ 7. How is the coefficient of friction measured? The coefficient of friction is measured by dividing the force of friction between two surfaces by the force pressing them together. _______________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________ 8. Where is Teflon used? Why is it better than the alternative? Think! Teflon is used as a non-stick coating in cookware and as a lubricant in machinery because of its low coefficient of _______________________________________________________________________________________ friction, which reduces sticking and wear. _______________________________________________________________________________________ 9. Why are living thing considered so efficient? Living things are considered efficient because they have evolved to minimize friction in their movements, such as _______________________________________________________________________________________ through streamlined shapes or specialized lubricating mechanisms in joints. _______________________________________________________________________________________ 10. What are the four types of friction? Static Friction, Fluid Friction, Sliding Friction, Rolling Friction _______________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________ 11. Give at least two examples on each type of friction. Think! Static Friction A book resting on a table, a car parked on a flat road Fluid Friction Water flowing through a pipe, air resistance on a moving car Sliding Friction Pushing a box across the floor, sliding a book along a desk Rolling Friction A wheel rolling on the ground, a ball rolling down a hill 12. What is required to overcome friction? To overcome friction, a force greater than the force of friction is needed to set an object in motion or to keep it in motion. __________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________ 13. What is the relationship between the weight of the object and its friction? Think! The relationship between the weight of an object and its friction is direct, meaning that as the weight of the object __________________________________________________________________________________________ increases, so does the friction between it and the surface it's in contact with. __________________________________________________________________________________________ 14. Why is the value of the coefficient friction important to engineers? The value of the coefficient of friction is important to engineers because it helps them predict and control the amount of __________________________________________________________________________________________ friction between two surfaces, which is crucial for designing efficient and reliable systems. __________________________________________________________________________________________