Physics

ICSE - Class 6
Friction and its Types
Summary

Definition:
Friction is a force that opposes the relative motion between two
surfaces of objects in contact.
The force of friction always acts in a direction opposite to that of the
applied force.
Friction exists between two surfaces due to the interlocking of
micro-level irregularities of the two surfaces of the objects in
contact.
Factors That Affect Friction
Roughness of the surface
The extent to which the two surfaces press together
Nature of the surface
Types of Friction
There are three types of friction that exists between solid surfaces.
They are static friction, sliding friction and rolling friction. Frictional
force that comes into action before the start of the motion of an
object is called static friction. Example: a box placed on the floor.
When an object slides over another surface, the frictional force that

comes into action is sliding friction. Example: a boy sliding on a slide.

The frictional force exerted when an object rolls over a surface is
called rolling friction. Example: rolling ball on the ground. It is found
that:
Rolling friction < sliding friction < static friction.
The frictional force exerted by fluids when objects move through
them is called fluid friction or drag.
Effects of Friction

Friction produces heat.

Friction causes wear and tear.

Friction opposes motion.

Advantages of Friction
Friction between pen and paper enables us to write
on the paper.
Friction between our feet and the ground allows our
movements like standing, walking and running.
Friction between the road and tyres of vehicles allow
the vehicles to move without slipping.
Friction saves us from the impact
of meteoroids coming from space as they get burnt in the
earth's atmosphere due to friction.
Friction helps us to light a match stick.
Disadvantages of Friction
Friction causes moving objects to stop or slow down.
Friction produces heat causing wastage of energy in machines.
Friction causes wear and tear of moving parts of macinery, soles
of shoes, tyres, etc.
Methods of Increasing and Reducing Friction

In real life, there are circumstances where we have to increase the

friction and minimise the friction. Friction can be increased by
increasing the roughness of the surfaces in contact. For example,
treading of shoes and tyres is done to increase friction. When friction
is undesirable we have to reduce the friction. Friction can be
minimised by using lubricants like oil and grease and by using ball
bearing between machine parts. A substance that is introduced
between two surfaces in contact, to reduce friction, is called a
lubricant. Fluid friction can be minimised by giving suitable shapes to
the objects moving in the fluids.
Friction Is A Necessary Evil
There are instances in daily life where friction is necessity. For
example, without friction, we cannot hold objects in our hands; we
cannot walk and cannot light a match stick. Sometimes friction is not
desirable, for example friction between machinery parts which
causes wear and tear. As friction is advantageous to us it is
considered as a friend but due to its disadvantages it is a foe.
Depending on the circumstance, friction can be a help or a hindrance.
Thus it is a necessary evil.

Friction Basics
Friction is a force that holds back the movement of a sliding
object. That's it. Friction is just that simple.
You will find friction everywhere that objects come into
contact with each other. The force acts in the opposite
direction to the way an object wants to slide. If a car needs
to stop at a stop sign, it slows because of the friction
between the brakes and the wheels. If you run down the
sidewalk and stop quickly, you can stop because of the
friction between your shoes and the cement.
What happens if you run down the sidewalk and you try to
stop on a puddle? Friction is still there, but the liquid makes

the surfaces smoother and the friction a lot less. Less friction
means it is harder to stop. The low friction thing happens to
cars when it rains. That's why there are often so many
accidents. Even though the friction of the brakes is still there,
the brakes may be wet, and the wheels are not in as much
contact with the ground. Cars hydroplane when they go too
fast on puddles of water.

Friction and Gases

Friction only happens with solid
objects, but you do
get resistance to motion in both
liquids and gases. This doesn't
involve sliding surfaces like friction
does, but is instead the kind of
resistance you get if you try to push
your way through a crowd. It's a colliding situation, not a
sliding one. If the gas is air, this is referred to as air
resistance.
If you were in the space shuttle and re-entering the
atmosphere, the bottom of the shuttle would be getting very
hot. The collisions that occur between the molecules of the
air being compressed by the shuttle, heat up the air AND the
shuttle itself. The temperature on the top of the shuttle is
also warm, but nowhere near the temperatures found on the
bottom.

Friction and Liquids

Although liquids offer resistance to
objects moving through them, they
also smooth surfaces and reduce
friction. Liquids tend to get thinner
(lessviscous) as they are heated.
Yes, that's like the viscosity of the
oil you put in your car. Car engines
have a lot of moving parts, and they
rub on each other. The rubbing produces friction and the
result is heat. When oil is added to a car engine, the oil
sticks to surfaces, and helps to decrease the amount of
friction and wear on the parts of the engine. An engine that
runs hotter requires a more viscous oil in order for it to stick
to the surfaces properly.

Measuring Friction

Measures of friction are based on the type of materials that

are in contact. Concrete on concrete has a very
highcoefficient 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.

INTRODUCTION ABOUT
DISADVANTAGES OF FRICTION:
Friction cause unnecessary wear and tear
of the machinery.Due to friction between the moving parts of a machine heat is produced,which
in a wat affects the working as well as the life of a machine.
Long:

DISADVANTAGES OF FRICTION:
Despite the fact that the friction is very important in our daily life, it also has some disadvantages
like:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

The main disadvantage of friction is that it produces heat in various parts of

machines. In this way some useful energy is wasted as heat energy.
Due to friction we have to exert more power in machines.
It opposes the motion.
Due to friction, noise is also produced in machines.
Due to friction, engines of automobiles consume more fuel which is a money
los (a) Slows down or stops the movement of objects

A bigger force is needed to overcome the friction so that an object can move faster.

INTRODUCTION ABOUT METHODS TO INCREASE FRICTION:

The ways of increasing and decreasing friction: When a body slides over the surface of another
body, there is an opposing force acting in opposite direction of motion and this opposing force is
called friction.Their are various ways by means of which, we can increase or decrease friction.

METHODS TO INCREASE FRICTION:

When two materials slide or rub against each other, three things can happen: small nooks,
crannies, and irregularities on the surfaces can catch on each other; one or both surfaces can
deform in response to the motion; and, finally, the atoms within each surface can interact with
each other. For practical purposes, all three of these effects do the same thing: generate friction.
Picking surfaces that are abrasive (like sandpaper), deform when pressed (like rubber), or have
adhesive interactions with other surfaces (like tacky glue, etc.) is a straightforward way to
increase friction.

Engineering textbooks and similar resources can be great tools when picking
which materials to use to generate high friction. Most standard building
materials have known friction coefficients that is, measures of how much
friction they generate with other surfaces

Press the two surfaces together harder. One fundamental principle of basic physics is that the
friction an object experiences is proportional to its normal force (for our purposes, this is basically
the force with which it presses into the object its sliding against). This means that the friction
between two surfaces can be increased if the surfaces are pressed into each other with greater
force.

If youve ever used a set of disc brakes (for instance, on a car or bike) youve
observed this principle in action. In this case, pressing the brakes pushes a set
of friction-generating pads into metal discs attached to the wheels. The harder
the brakes are pushed, the harder the pads get pressed into the discs and the
more friction is generated. This can stop the vehicle quickly, but can also
release lots of heat, which is why a set of brakes is usually quite hot after heavy
braking.

For example, a bicycle will eventually stop if it not cycled consistently. if you want make the
bicycle speed up, you have to cycle it faster. That means more energy is needed to overcome
the frictional force.

(b) Causes the surface of an object to wear out for example, soles of shoes and surfaces of
tyres.
(c) Produces unnecessary heat Car engines becomes hotter because of friction.