I.

Introduction

Forces affect the motion and speed of a football in the game, and different forces can help
and hinder motion in the game at different times. Some forces are in direct contact with objects,
while other forces are not. For example, the force of friction slows the football down when it rub
against another object. Friction is a force that resist motion between two bodies in contact. You can
observe a football when you roll a football on the ground. The ball will eventually come to a
complete stop after rolling, because the friction caused by the football dragging on the ground
depletes the force that was initially enacted upon it.

II. Objective
1. To identify what force is acting upon pushing and pulling the books
2. To determine the various factors affecting the frictional force
2.1 Which surfaces provided the most friction
2.2 How mass affect the force of friction
3. To differentiate how pushing and pulling the books on such surfaces affect the frictional
force

III. Materials
Three books of different mass and dimensions
String (8 feet in length)
Three different testing surfaces like a table, shoal or tile floor
Scale
Tape measure/yard stick
Stop watches if available

IV. Procedures
1. Collect three of your school textbooks that are different size and weight (you can use
books of various sizes that you have at home as well).
2. Record the weight of each of the books before experimenting.
3. Find the three different surfaces to slide (or push) the textbooks on (examples: table,
scarf, tile floor).
4. Being sure not to damage the textbook, slide the textbook along various surfaces,
keeping a keen eye on a frictional force that each surface has on the movement of the
textbooks.
5. Record the time and distance that each book traveled on the three different surfaces.
6. Tie strands of the string around each textbook, and this time, pull each book and record
the time it take to pull the same distance you pushed the book on the three surfaces.
Write down your observations and record the times of this experiment.

V. Experiment setup

VI. Data and results

Weight
Book 1 (small) 231g
Book 2 (medium) 396g
Book 3 (big) 420g
 Investigation Without String Distance Time Speed Ave. speed
Data
Push #1 * Book 1 (small) 1.53 m 1.15 sec 1.33 m/s 1.53 m/s
Table surface * Book 2 (medium) 1.43 m 0.86 sec 1.66 m/s
* Book 3 (big) 1.21 m 0.76 sec 1.59 m/s

Push #2 * Book 1 (small) 1.04 m 0.69 sec 1.51 m/s 1.51 m/s
Scarf surface * Book 2 (medium) 0.96 m 0.64 sec 1.50 m/s
* Book 3 (big) 0.78 m 0.51 sec 1.53 m/s

Push #3 * Book 1 (small) 4.06 m 1.53 sec 2.65 m/s 2.32 m/s
Tile floor surface * Book 2 (medium) 2.39 m 0.92 sec 2.60 m/s
* Book 3 (big) 1.72 m 0.85 sec 2.02 m/s

Investigation With String Distance Time Speed Ave. Speed

Push #2 * Book 1 (small) 0.90 m 0.43 sec 2.09 m/s 2.31 m/s
Scarf surface * Book 2 (medium) 0.73 m 0.41 sec 1.78 m/s
* Book 3 (big) 0.49 m 0.16 sec 3.06 m/s

Push #3 * Book 1 (small) 1.72 m 0.69 sec 2.49 m/s 2.37 m/s
Tile floor surface * Book 2 (medium) 1.26 m 0.45 sec 2.80 m/s
* Book 3 (big) 0.94 m 0.30 sec 1.81 m/s

This table shows that without forces, the books cannot move by itself but with the different surface
and different sizes of the books, it will move according to the amount of friction will occur in each
object. This friction is called frictional force.

The table shows that among the three surfaces, when the books slide at the SCARF SURFACE, the
distance and time is shorter which results to the least average speed. While, TILE FLOOR SURFACE makes
the books slide faster and longer. On the other hand, when the books slide at the TABLE SURFACE, it
results an average speed that’s not far from the TILE FLOOR. It only shows that the surface affects the
frictional force. SCARF SURFACE, has a rough surface and has a greater friction while TILE FLOOR
SURFACE has the smoother surface and has the least friction.

Also, the table shows that the BOOK 3 (big, 420 g), record on many instances as the book that got
the length of the shortest distance. In comparison, BOOK 2 (medium,396) got a shorter distance than
the BOOK 1 (small, 231 g) which record as the book that got a longest distance in many circumstances.
This result shows that the lesser the mass of an object, the longer the distance that the object will stop
and the less friction will occur. And the greater the mass, the greater the tendency that the book will
stop at the nearer distance because the heavier the object, the stronger the force of friction.

In addition, the table shows that pushing the books without a string results a slower average speed
than pulling the books without a string towards us. It only means that in pushing the object, the greater
the frictional force and in pulling the object, the less frictional force will occur.

VII. Application
1. When you pull the textbook towards you, you could feel a force opposing you.
2. What force do you think is pushing against the book as you pulled it?
3. What happens if you double the weight by stacking one book on top of the other?
4. How does the surface type affect the frictional force? Typically, the smoother the
surface is less the friction. However, sometimes tile floor which is very smooth, will
produce a large frictional force, especially if it is very clean.
5. What are some examples of friction?
6. Explained what happened when you rubbed your hands together at a fast pace?
7. Which of the surfaces (table, shoal, and tile floor) provided most friction? Which provide
the least
8. What affect would friction have on a rolling football?
9. How does rain affect the football player’s performance on the field in regards to
friction?

VIII. Conclusions
1. Frictional force is the force that act between the book and the three different
surfaces. It occurs when two object came into contact with each other. Friction
force act in the direction parallel to the area of contact and opposes the motion or
the tendency to move.
2. Surfaces and mass affect the frictional force
2.1 The smoother the object, the less friction. Tile floor surface cause the least
friction because it is the smoothest among the three that makes the books
move faster. While the scarf has the most friction because it is rough that makes
the book move slower.
2.2 The heavier the object, the stronger the force of friction. Book 3 has the higher
mass and always has the shortest distance while Book 1 is the slightest and
always record with the longest distance.
3. By pushing the book, it cause a downward component of book therefore the friction
is increased. On the other hand, pulling the book makes an upward component of
the force which caused the friction to decrease.

IX. Recommendations
1. Assign only one member of the group that will do the pushing and pulling of the book to
apply the same amount of force. It will make the record more accurate.
2. Always make sure that the area or the surface is clear and no material will be a barrier
that can cause the book to stop. Also, get a book that weighs far different from each
other to get a precise result
3. Make sure that you will slide and pull the book with the same amount of force you will
exert in both with or without a string.