🧭 Project Summary
You'll pick at least three different surfaces — sandpaper, wax paper, felt, bare wood, whatever your teacher makes available — and measure the coefficient of static friction for each one using the spring-scale method from Lesson 2-2-1.
Then comes the real test: before you ever touch the adjustable ramp, use tanθ = μs to predict the exact angle where each surface will start to slide. Only after you've committed to a prediction do you actually raise the ramp and find out how close you were.
The three days
Turn in
- Your coefficient-of-friction data table for every surface you tested
- A prediction accuracy check — predicted vs. measured critical angle for each surface, with a calculated difference
Why it matters
This project has no new physics in it — it's Lessons 2-2-1 through 2-2-3, back to back, on real materials. That's deliberate: the grade rides on whether you can chain skills you already have into a genuine prediction, and then be honest about how well it held up.
🧩 Before You Start — Prerequisite Check
This project draws entirely on Lessons 2-2-1, 2-2-2, and 2-2-3. Check yourself honestly — if something's shaky, the review links in the sidebar are exactly what they're there for.