Determining the coefficient of friction? (example inside)

AI Thread Summary
The discussion focuses on determining the coefficient of friction for a physics experiment involving a textbook on a wooden ramp. The textbook, with a mass of 1.2 kg, begins to slip at a 30-degree incline after 4.0 seconds. The initial calculation suggests using the tangent of the angle, yielding a coefficient of friction of approximately 0.58. However, further clarification indicates that the coefficient of static friction can be derived from the balance of forces at the point of slipping. The key takeaway is that the coefficient of static friction is indeed equal to the tangent of the angle of incline where slipping occurs.
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Homework Statement



A physics student is performing an experiment to determine the coefficient of friction between a physics textbook and a 2.5 m wooden ramp. He places the textbook, which has a mass of 1.2 kg, on the inclined ramp and gradually increases the angle of the incline. At an angle of 30 degrees, the textbook starts to slip. It slides down the ramp in 4.0 s. Determine the coefficient of friction.

Homework Equations





The Attempt at a Solution



Well i was working on it with my friend in class, and he came up with

friction = tan 30 degrees = 0.58

but then, I don't think that's all to it right? Any help please?
 
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The coefficient of static friction is indeed:

\mu_s=\tan\theta where \theta is the angle at which the block starts to slip.

You can work on deriving this yourself by starting with the following information:

At the angle where the block just starts to slip the component of gravity along the hill (x direction) much equal the force of static friction:

F_{gx}=F_{static f}

Can you fill in for the forces above and solve for the coefficient? If you can, you should end up with the expression given by your friend.
 
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Kindly see the attached pdf. My attempt to solve it, is in it. I'm wondering if my solution is right. My idea is this: At any point of time, the ball may be assumed to be at an incline which is at an angle of θ(kindly see both the pics in the pdf file). The value of θ will continuously change and so will the value of friction. I'm not able to figure out, why my solution is wrong, if it is wrong .
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