How Does Mass Affect the Force Required to Overcome Friction?

[maym]

Homework Statement

A rope is used to drag an object across a surface. How does the area of the mass affect the force required to start the block moving? Build a working model.
Someone please give me an idea as to what I'm supposed to be building!

dependent variable: force
control variables: mass

Homework Equations

f= m x a
a= (9.8m/s)/time

The Attempt at a Solution

I know I must use a block and rope for the project but not sure how to build it exactly should a spring be used to push the block as a rope is attached to it? I am so confused... I must run this experiment many times and another student in class will check to see if they get the same answers. That is acceleration of the object as well as force. I know the project must end up showing how with a larger mass there must be larger force applied.

 

[BAnders1]

May I suggest taking some flat material (the surface) and poking a hole in it so a string may be fed through the hole vertically. One end of the string could drag something across the surface, the other end could be connected to some weight which pulls the other end with some known force (F=mg).

You can find the critical weight needed to make the object being dragged move, then you can use an object of the same material and different surface area to test the same situation.

 

[kerimek]

I would first suggest conducting some research on the concept of friction and its relationship to force and mass. This will help you understand the underlying principles behind the project and guide your experimental design.

Based on the given information, it seems like the goal of the project is to investigate how the mass of an object affects the force required to overcome friction and start the object moving. To build a working model, you could use a wooden block as the object and a smooth surface such as a table or a board as the surface. You can attach a rope to the block and run it over a pulley at the edge of the surface, with a weight attached to the other end of the rope. This weight will act as the force pulling the block.

To vary the mass of the block, you can use different sizes of blocks or add weights on top of the block. As you increase the mass of the block, you will need to increase the weight pulling on the rope to overcome the friction and start the block moving. You can measure the force required to start the block moving using a spring scale attached to the rope.

To ensure accuracy and reliability, it is important to repeat the experiment multiple times with different masses and record the results. This will also allow you to calculate the average force required for each mass and observe the trend in the data.

In summary, a simple working model for this project would involve a wooden block, a rope, a pulley, a weight, and a spring scale. It is important to have a clear understanding of the concept being investigated and to carefully design and conduct the experiment to obtain accurate and reliable results. Good luck with your project!