Coefficient of friction different for different angles.

AI Thread Summary
The discussion revolves around measuring the coefficient of static friction using different methods: one on a horizontal surface and another on an inclined ramp. The coefficient calculated for the ramp is approximately 0.40, while the horizontal surface yields around 0.25. Participants question whether the discrepancy is due to experimental error or assumptions about the normal force. It is noted that both experiments used the same surface material, but the angle of inclination affects the friction measurement. The conversation highlights the importance of consistent methodology and understanding the physics behind friction in different scenarios.
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I am having my students do a lab to calculate the coefficient of static friction along a ramp. They are calculating the coefficient of static friction between felt and the table to be something like 0.40, yet when i did this lab, but along a horizontal surface, and not with a ramp, i get a coefficient around 0.25. Am i making a wrong assumption here, or am i making a lab error.
 
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How did you measure it, for each of the two experiments?
 
nasu said:
How did you measure it, for each of the two experiments?

For the first experiment, we dragged a block along the table, ever so slightly increasing the applied force (which is attached to a forcemeter) until it started moving. We plotted the graph, which clearly shows the friction graph, and calculated mu from there.

For this year's experiment, we increased the angle of the table, ever so slightly, recording the angle from our phones, until it just starts to slide. We then calculate mu using mu = tantheta.
 
The formula for friction coefficient involves the 'normal Force'. Was that the same for all experiments?
 
So the two surfaces were different, weren't they? The ramp is something else than the table, I understand.
And you did these experiments with one year interval in between?
 
nasu said:
So the two surfaces were different, weren't they? The ramp is something else than the table, I understand.
And you did these experiments with one year interval in between?

No, they were the same surface. And yes, the data was from last year.
 

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