DELHI PUBLIC SCHOOL BANGALORE EAST

CLASS – VIII (PHYSICS)

TOPIC: FRICTION

NOTES
1. Define friction.

Ans. Friction is a form of force that opposes the relative motion between the surfaces in contact. It
acts on both the surfaces.

2. What is the cause of friction? Explain.

Ans. The cause of friction is the irregularities of the two surfaces in contact. When two bodies are
placed upon one another, the irregularities of the surfaces of two bodies get interlocked. When a
force is applied on one body to slide it upon another body, its interlocked irregularities opposes the
applied force, which appears to us in the form of friction.

Fig: Enlarged view of irregularities of surfaces in contact

3. List the factors that affect friction.

Ans. a) Nature of the surfaces in contact: If the surfaces are rough, friction is more. If the surfaces
in contact are smooth, less friction is produced.
b) Force with which the surfaces are pressed together: If the surfaces are pressed harder, friction will
be more and vice versa.

4. Explain the terms- Static friction, limiting friction, sliding friction, Rolling friction.

Ans. a) Static friction: It is the force of friction that acts when one body is just in contact with other
body but there is no relative motion. This friction does not allow two bodies to slide upon one
another. It is a self-adjusting force, that is, as much force is produced as necessary to prevent the
motion.
b) Limiting friction: The maximum force of static friction that acts when one body just slides upon
another body is called limiting friction.

c) Sliding friction: The force of friction acting between two bodies when they are sliding upon one
another with a uniform speed is called sliding friction.
 d) Rolling friction: The friction experienced by a body, when it is made to move over bodies like
roller or a wheel is called rolling friction.

The roller or the wheel deforms the surface temporarily causing a depression. The roller itself
also gets deformed temporarily. Because of this, a kind of inclined plane is formed in the
direction of motion. Thus a force or rolling friction comes into play to overcome this temporary
but continuously forward moving inclined plane.

Fig: Rolling friction

5. Why is dynamic friction less than limiting friction?
Ans. Friction is caused due to the interlocking of irregularities on the surface of two bodies in contact
with each other. In case of limiting friction, more force is required to unlock the irregularities
between the surfaces of two stationary bodies. But once any object is in motion (dynamic friction),
force required to keep the irregularities unlocked is less. Thus magnitude of dynamic friction is
always less than limiting friction.
Fig: Graph between applied force and force of friction.
 FRICTION - TEXTBOOK EXERCISE

1. Fill in the blanks.

(a) Friction opposes the relative motion between the surfaces in contact with each other.
(b) Friction depends on the nature of surfaces.
(c) Friction produces heat.
(d) Sprinkling of powder on the carom board reduce friction.
(e) Sliding friction is less than the static friction.
2. Four children were asked to arrange forces due to rolling, static and sliding frictions in a
decreasing order. Their arrangements are given below.
Choose the correct arrangement.
(a) Rolling, static, sliding
(b) Rolling, sliding, static
(c) Static, sliding, rolling
(d) Sliding, static, rolling

Ans. (c) Static, sliding, rolling

3. Alida runs her toy car on dry marble floor, wet marble floor, newspaper and towel spread on the
floor. The force of friction acting on the car on different surfaces in increasing order will be
(a) Wet marble floor, dry marble floor, newspaper and towel
(b) Newspaper, towel, dry marble floor, wet marble floor
(c) Towel, newspaper, dry marble floor, wet marble floor
(d) Wet marble floor, dry marble floor, towel, newspaper

Ans. (a) Wet marble floor, dry marble floor, newspaper and towel.

4. Suppose your writing desk it tilted a little. A book kept on it starts sliding down. Show the
direction of frictional force acting on it.
Ans. The direction of frictional force on the book is opposite to the direction of its motion and acts
in upward direction as shown in the following figure

5. You spill a bucket of soapy water on a marble floor accidently. Would it make easier or more
difficult for you to walk on the floor? Why?

Ans. Soapy floor reduces the frictional force applied by the floor. That is why; it is difficult to walk
on a soapy floor.

6. Explain why sportsmen use shoes with spikes.

Ans. Sportsmen use shoes with spikes to increase friction so that shoes get better grip on the ground.
 7. Iqbal has to push a lighter box and Seema has to push a similar heavier box on the same floor.
Who will have to apply a larger force and why?

Ans. Force of friction arises because of the interlocking of irregularities of the two surfaces in contact.
When a heavy object is placed on the floor, the interlocking becomes stronger compared to lighter box
as two surfaces are pressed harder. Hence more force is required to overcome the interlocking. Thus
Seema has to apply a greater force than Iqbal.

8. Explain why sliding friction is less than static friction.

Ans. When an object has already started moving (sliding), the irregularities on its surface do not get
enough time to lock into the irregularities on the surface of the other object completely. Since the
interlocking of the two surfaces is less when an object has already started moving, therefore, the sliding
friction is less than the static friction.

9. Give examples to show that friction is both a friend and foe.

Ans. Examples of friction as a friend (advantages of friction):

i) We are able to walk because of friction between the soles of our shoes (or foot) and the ground.

ii) Friction between the tip of the pen and a paper allows us to write.

Examples of friction as a foe (disadvantages of friction):

i) Tyres and soles of shoes wear out because of friction.

ii) Friction between different moving parts of machines produces heat. This can damage the
machines.

10. Explain why objects moving in fluids must have special shapes.

Ans. When a body moves through a fluid, it experiences an opposing force called drag. This force
depends on the shape of the body. By giving objects a special shape (streamlined shape), the force
of friction acting on them can be minimized. Hence it becomes easier for the objects to move
through the fluid.

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