Rough or Smooth Surface Which has More Friction?

Grade:

7

Teacher:

Alexandria Vaughn

1. What is your project about? My science fair project was about what type of surface has more friction. Surfaces- (Lacquered Wood, Felt, Medium Grit Sandpaper, and Coarse Sandpaper.) In my hypothesis, it says that “If rougher surfaces make it harder for two objects to slide. Then it will take more force to move the objects. Because rougher surfaces have more friction.” My science fair project shows that it can be hard to move a block without knowing if the surface is rough or smooth and I think people should know what surface type of surface has more friction. 1. Why did you choose this project? I chose this project because during science class we were learning about Physics and Astronomy and I was really interested in how it works and why it happens. The physics of friction really helped me understand how things can slide and why friction occurs. 1. What was your result/ overall conclusion? My overall conclusion was that the Coarser Sandpaper had the most friction and was the roughest surface. This proved that rougher surfaces have more friction than smoother surfaces. Because the Coarse Sandpaper was a rougher surface, it had the most friction. As shown in my data, the Coarse Sandpaper had the most friction with an average friction being of 8.8 N force required to move the block. And my results show that the block that had the least friction was the Lacquered wood because it was the smoothest surface and didn’t have any rough or bumpy edges. My hypothesis explains that rougher surfaces should have more friction and my hypothesis was accepted in my results. 1. Why is your project important? My project is important because if someone was building something that needed to move, they would need to find out what surface to use depending on the scenario. It's important because it helped me learn how to figure out how much friction could happen depending on the surface.

Project presentation

Research paper