Physics Laboratory I Spring 2025 The University of Texas at Dallas

Lab Manual
Lab 7: Friction & Pure Rolling
➢ Before the lab, read the theory in Sections 1-3 and answer questions on Pre-lab. Sub-
mit your Pre-lab at the beginning of the lab.
➢ During the lab, read Section 4 and follow the procedure to do the experiment. You
will record data sets, perform analyses, answer questions, and have Check Boxes
checked on Report Sheets. Submit your Report Sheets before you leave the lab.
❖ You are encouraged to have discussions with TA and other students, but you are re-
quired to do calculations and answer questions individually and independently.

1. Introduction
In previous labs, we have encountered systematic errors that are caused by friction. For exam-
ple, when we studied the relationship between an airtrack glider’s displacement vs time Δ𝑥 ∝ 𝑡 𝑛
under a constant pulling weight, our measurements always showed n < 2 instead of n = 2. The
total momentum of two airtrack gliders always dropped by several percent or more rather than
conserved after collision. These discrepancies are due to the presence of a friction force in the
system or from the environment, which we discussed several times in the report but never had a
chance to measure directly. In the first part of lab, we will study the kinetic friction force between
a plane and a block moving on it and find the coefficient of kinetic friction.
Although frictions tend to prevent sliding, a round object on a plane with strong friction can still
move by rolling. In the second part of lab, we will study rolling motion without sliding, called pure
polling, of typical round objects with different moment of inertia on an inclined plane.

2. Key Concepts
• Kinetic friction force • Moment of inertia
• Coefficient of kinetic friction • Pure rolling

3. Theory
3.1 Kinetic friction force
⃗ k,
When an object slides over a surface, a typical type of friction, called kinetic friction force 𝒇
acts on the object. The direction of ⃗𝒇k is to prevent the sliding between the object and the surface
⃗ k , denoted by 𝑓𝑘 , is approximately
and is perpendicular to the normal force. The magnitude of 𝒇
proportional to the magnitude 𝑁 of normal force, or
𝑓𝑘 = 𝜇𝑘 𝑁, (𝟏)

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where 𝜇𝑘 is called the coefficient of kinetic friction. Below we assume that 𝜇𝑘 can depend on the
property of surface but is independent of the sliding speed.

(a) (b)
Figure 1: (a) Experimental M 𝑭 (i) (ii)
setup for measuring the ki- rest constant speed
netic friction force. (b) Pull- Force 𝒇𝒌
ing force vs time graph. sensor
𝑭 𝒕

In this lab, we will measure the kinetic friction force by pulling a block and letting it slide on a
horizontal plane at a constant speed. The setup is illustrated in Figure 1(a). The pulling force 𝐹 as
a function of time is recorded by a force sensor. Figure 1(b) shows a typical 𝐹 vs 𝑡 graph, which
contains two regions. Region (i) tells that when the pull starts but the object is still at rest, 𝐹 in-
creases with time. Region (ii) tells that when the object is moving at a constant speed, the 𝐹 vs 𝑡
graph is roughly a horizontal line, with small fluctuations. The average of graph in Region (ii) is
the kinetic friction force 𝑓𝑘 . We will measure 𝑓𝑘 at different normal forces 𝑁 and, according to Eq.
(1), find the coefficient of kinetic friction 𝜇𝑘 from the slope of 𝑓𝑘 vs 𝑁 graph.

3.2 Pure rolling

Sliding is not the only way for a body to move on a surface.
When the friction is strong enough to prevent sliding, a round
rigid body can move on a surface in a way of pure rolling, 𝑅
which is a combination of translational motion and rotation 𝑀𝑔 sin 𝜙 𝑓
(see the thick arrows in Figure 2). For a rigid body, the transla- 𝜙
tional motion can be described by the displacement of center
Figure 2: Pure rolling of a round
of mass as a function of time, Δ𝑥(𝑡), while the rotation can be
rigid body on an inclined plane.
described by the angular displacement Δ𝜃(𝑡) of the body with
respect to its rotation center, the center of mass. In general, Δ𝑥(𝑡) and Δ𝜃(𝑡) can be independent
of each other, but for pure rolling of a round rigid body with radius 𝑅, the no-sliding condition
imposes their relation as Δ𝑥(𝑡) = 𝑅 × Δ𝜃(𝑡) (see more details in Textbook). This leads to a rela-
tion between the translational acceleration 𝑎 and angular acceleration 𝛼, as
𝛼 = 𝑎/𝑅. (𝟐)
As shown in Figure 2, the pure rolling is driven by two forces (thin red arrows): (1) gravitational
force along the inclined plane, 𝑀𝑔 sin 𝜙, exerted on the center of the body, and (2) friction force
along the inclined plane, 𝑓, exerted on the point contacting the plane. Note that 𝑓 is a different
kind of friction force (static friction force) than 𝑓𝑘 in Sec 3.1 because there is no sliding. By analyz-
ing the forces, we can write down Newton’s 2nd law for the translational motion as
𝑀𝑔 sin 𝜙 − 𝑓 = 𝑀𝑎, (𝟑)
and its angular version, which relates the torque to the angular acceleration, as
𝑓𝑅 = 𝐼𝛼. (𝟒)

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Here the friction exerts a torque 𝑓𝑅 on the body, but the gravitational force does not because
it is exerted on the body’s center. The quantity 𝐼, call the moment of inertia, plays a role in the
rotational motion analogous to mass in the translational motion. Typical round objects (made of
uniform materials) with mass 𝑀 and radius 𝑅 have moment of inertia of the form,
𝐼 = 𝑐𝑀𝑅 2 , (𝟓)
where 𝑐 ≤ 1 is a number depending on the shape of the object. Table 1 below lists the 𝑐 num-
ber for typical shapes.

Moment of inertia Hollow Hollow Solid Solid

(𝑰 = 𝒄𝑴𝑹𝟐 ) cylinder sphere cylinder sphere
𝒄= 1 2/3 1/2 2/5
Table 1: Moment of inertia of typical round rigid objects.

Combining Eqs. (2)–(5), we can obtain a relation

𝑔 sin 𝜙
𝑎= , (𝟔)
1+𝑐
which tells that the acceleration of a purely rolling object is always smaller than a freely sliding
object (without friction) on the same inclined plane. Equation (6) allows us to detect an object’s
shape from its pure rolling motion. If we let two objects 1 and 2 roll down an inclined plane by
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distance Δ𝑥, according to the kinematic equation Δ𝑥 = 2 𝑎𝑡 2 , we obtain the ratio of the two ob-
jects’ travel time as
𝑡2 𝑎1 1 + 𝑐2
=√ =√ . (𝟕)
𝑡1 𝑎2 1 + 𝑐1

Given that the travel time of hollow cylinder, hollow sphere, solid cylinder, and solid sphere are
denoted by 𝑡ℎ𝑐 , 𝑡ℎ𝑠 , 𝑡𝑠𝑐 , and 𝑡𝑠𝑠 , respectively, Eq. (7) and Table 1 tell us

𝑡ℎ𝑠 5 𝑡𝑠𝑐 3 𝑡𝑠𝑠 7

= √ = 0.913, = √ = 0.866, = √ = 0.837. (𝟖)
𝑡ℎ𝑐 6 𝑡ℎ𝑐 4 𝑡ℎ𝑐 10

In this lab we will measure the travel time of objects with different shapes and examine the
ratio or use the ratio to determine the shape. Note that these ratios depend only on the shapes.
They are independent of mass, radius, inclined angle, and travel distance.
Question (write down the answers in Pre-lab)
1) Please draw the free-body diagram of mass 𝑀 in Figure 1(a). The diagram should include the
pulling force 𝐹, gravitational force 𝑀𝑔, normal force 𝑁, and friction force 𝑓𝑘 .
2) Consider the graph in Figure 1(b). Please explain why the average of pulling force 𝐹 in Region
(ii) can be regarded as the kinetic friction force 𝑓𝑘 . (You may refer to the free body diagram in
Question 1.)
3) Consider an object on an inclined plane with angle 𝜙, as in the right figure.
If it is driven by gravity and is sliding down at a constant speed, please
𝜙
show that the coefficient of kinetic friction 𝜇𝑘 = tan 𝜙. (Hint: use the re-
lation in Eq. (1).)

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Physics Laboratory I Spring 2025 The University of Texas at Dallas

4) Follow two steps below to derive Eq. (6):

i. Insert the angular acceleration from Eq. (2) and the moment of inertia from Eq. (5) into RHS
of Eq. (4) and find the friction in terms of these quantities.
ii. Insert the friction obtained in i. into Eq. (3) and rearrange it to get Eq. (6).
5) Are the statements below correct? a)
1. Considering two different ways in the figure to push two identical heavy
boxes to move at a constant speed, case a) experiences a larger kinetic
friction force then case b). b)
2. With the presence of kinetic friction, a brick pulled by gravity can no longer
slide down an inclined plane at a constant acceleration.
3. If a round object undergoes pure rolling downhill on an inclined plane, the friction force
tends to decelerate the translational motion of the object.
4. If a round object undergoes pure rolling downhill on an inclined plane, the friction force
tends to decelerate the rotational motion of the object.
6) Consider a pure-rolling race where two objects are simultaneously released from the top of an
inclined plane and roll down to a finish line. For each group below, answer which object will
win the race or it will be a tie (A or B or Tie).
1. A: 100 g solid cylinder with 𝑅 = 10 cm vs B: 100 g solid sphere with 𝑅 = 10 cm.
2. A: 100 g solid cylinder with 𝑅 = 10 cm vs B: 100 g hollow cylinder with 𝑅 = 10 cm.
3. A: 100 g solid cylinder with 𝑅 = 10 cm vs B: 200 g solid cylinder with 𝑅 = 10 cm.
4. A: 100 g solid cylinder with 𝑅 = 10 cm vs B: 100 g solid cylinder with 𝑅 = 20 cm.

4. Experiment
4.1 Equipment
• Triple beam balance • Force sensor
• Inclined plane with plastic mat • Stopwatch
• Set of masses • Rolling objects: hollow/solid cylinders,
• Block with wooden and enamel sides billiard ball, and racquetball.
• Short cable • Computer with Logger Pro software

4.2 Procedure
In Part I, you will measure the kinetic friction force 𝑓𝑘 between a block and a plastic surface.
You will change the normal force 𝑁 by adding masses on the block and find the coefficient of
kinetic friction 𝜇𝑘 from the graph of 𝑓𝑘 vs. 𝑁. In Part II, you will measure the travel time of roll-
ing of different objects and examine the relation we have learned from the theory section.

Part I: Kinetic friction force

1. Measure the mass of block and record on Report Sheets. Reset the balance weights after
measurement. Note that for only one measurement, the error is the measurement error.

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Physics Laboratory I Spring 2025 The University of Texas at Dallas

2. Touch by hand the wooden and enamel sides of block and the two surfaces of plastic mat
on the inclined plane. Make predictions of the relative friction for 4 cases: A) wooden side
on granular surface, B) enamel side on granular surface, C) wooden side on smooth surface,
D) enamel side on smooth surface. Write down your predictions on Report Sheets.
3. Connect the force sensor. Make sure its switch setting is ±10N. Open the Logger Pro file Lab
7 Friction. Hold the sensor with the hook upward and click Set Zero
Point . The bottom-left panel should show 0 N, which means that
you have finished the calibration.
4. Set the inclined plane to be level (0° angle). Have the wooden side
of block on the granular surface of plastic mat (Case A). Hook the
cable and force sensor like Figure 3. Put 50 g on the block.
5. Start recording the force by clicking Collect . Drag the force
sensor down so the block is driven to slowly slide on the surface. Figure 3: Part I setup.
Control the drag to make the force vs time graph like Figure 1(b)—there should be a suffi-
ciently large Region (ii) where the graph is roughly flat (redo until the graph looks satisfy-
ing). Click Stop . Click Autoscale to properly rescale the graph.
6. Click and select a proper range (>3s) of graph in Region (ii). Click Statistics . Record the
mean, which is the kinetic friction force, in Table R1 on Report Sheets.
7. Do the rest mass settings. Make sure the masses spread on the block as uniformly as possi-
ble. Do not stack them.
8. Flip the block or the plastic mat to do difference cases. Complete Table R1 on Report
Sheets.

Check point 1
Ask your TA to check your data recorded and the last force vs time graph on the screen. Get their
initials on Check Box 1 on Report Sheets.

Part II: Pure rolling

1. Have the granular surface of plastic mat facing up. Set the inclined plane’s
angle to 5°.
2. Using the stopwatch (or a stopwatch app on the computer desktop or
your smart phone), measure the time it takes for the hollow cylinder to
roll down the inclined plane:
i. Have Person 1 with the stopwatch place a pen (or a ruler, or the palm)
on the finish line and close the eyes.
ii. Have Person 2 hold the object (with a pen or ruler) on the start line. Figure 4: Object on
Align the object front with the start line as in Figure 4. the start line.
iii. Person 1 starts timing when Person 2 says “release” once releasing
the object and stops when feels a touch by the object. Please carefully release the object.
Do NOT give the object any initial speed or initial rotation.
The above steps should help reduce the human effects using the stopwatch.
3. Record the travel time in Table R2 on Report Sheets.
4. Do the rest trials and different objects. Complete Table R2 on Report Sheets.
5. Use Excel to compute the statistics of measurements and record in the table.

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Check point 2
Ask your TA to check your data recorded and get their initials on Check Box 2 on Report Sheets.

4.3 Analyses

I. Kinetic friction force (write on Report Sheets)

1) Compute the normal force 𝑁 for each measurement.
2) Plot 𝑓𝑘 vs. 𝑁 for each setting and find the best-fit lines. Record on Report Sheets.

Check point 3
Ask your TA to check your graphs and get their initials on Check Box 3 on Report Sheets.

3) Discuss whether your results have confirmed or contradicted the theory.

4) Compare the measurements with the predictions, and discuss how the friction depends
on the type of materials and granularity of surfaces based on the measurements.
5) Discuss the case with the least linear dependence of 𝑓𝑘 vs. 𝑁.

II. Pure rolling (write on Report Sheets)

1) Compute the travel time ratio of the other objects to the hollow cylinder.
2) Discuss how the travel time ratio of solid cylinder to hollow cylinder have confirmed or
contradicted the theoretical value.
3) Determine whether the billiard ball/racquetball is solid or hollow.
4) Discuss the object with the largest SEOM.
5) Discuss possible systematic errors in the measurement.

• Please clean up, recover your work station, and sign out of the computer before leaving.