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Title

Module 5 - Essential Question & Inquiry-Based Lesson Plan


Template
Friction Investigation

Grade Level/Subject

11th and 12th grade AP Physics C (Mechanics)

Overview of Lesson

In this lab,
Part 1: Students will explore how to determine the coefficient
of friction
Part 2: Students will read and analyze scientific texts. Students
will relate that information to the lab.
Part 3: Students will explore how mass affects friction and the
coefficient of friction.
Part 4: Students will design TWO procedures, decide what data
to collect and create data tables to calculate the coefficient of
friction (either static or kinetic) of sandpaper on particle board.
This lab will take multiple days in a 50 minute class period.

Web Address for


Activity Information

lab linked here

(Where can students find


guidance for inquiry
activity? This would be
Blog, Google docs, WIKI ,
WebQuest, URL)

Essential Questions

(What are the


essential/main question/s
that students will be
answering in this
activity?)

Do your results suggest that the coefficient of friction


does or does not depend on the surface area of the
object?
How can I find the coefficient of static friction between
my shoe and the ground without knowing the mass of
my shoe?
What relationship is there between the coefficient of
friction and the angle at which the shoe would slip?
Based on the data in the graph provided, what
conclusions can you draw about the relationship
between surface area and the force of friction?
Based on the information you know about friction, how
would you design a procedure to discover the coefficient
of friction between sandpaper and particleboard
Besides human error, what are the sources of error
causing you to get different coefficients of friction than
the

EDTL 6360: Internet in the Educational Community


Module 5 - Essential Question & Inquiry-Based Lesson Plan
Template
a.
Accepted value
b.
Other procedure you designed
and how can that error be reduced?
Suggested
Foundation/Subsidiar
y Questions
(What are some guided
questions that should be
answered to help with
answering essential
question?)

Content Standards
Addressed

Consider Newtons laws


When your shoe is stationary on the incline, is there
unbalanced force acting on it?
When would the forces become unbalanced?
Could you substitute any expressions for any of the unknown
forces in your equilibrium equation? (example instead of Fgy
and Fgx, Fgcos and Fgsin, respectively) How would this help
you in finding the relationship?
Standards taken from the course description for AP PHYSICS
C1 (MECHANICS):
d) Students should understand the significance of the coefficient of friction, so they can:
(1) Write down the relationship between the normal and frictional forces on a surface.
(2) Analyze situations in which an object moves along a rough inclined plane or horizontal
surface.
(3) Analyze under what circumstances an object will start to slip, or to calculate the magnitude
of the force of static friction.

Activities/Tasks
Part I: Factors that affect the coefficient of static friction

Procedures of
activities
Include a full
explanation of how
technology be utilized.

Introduction: People give little attention to the flooring unless they slip or experience fall accidents.
Flooring is a critical component of the public safety. Read this link for further information. Surface
roughness influences friction, where adequate flooring roughness significantly reduces slip and fall
accidents. Some hard materials, such as marble and ceramics, are polished by rubbing yielding
smoother surfaces which tend to increase the falling risks especially when wetted with water or
other lubricating media. Others, such as cement and concrete, produce rougher surfaces by rubbing
and reduce the risk factors.

EDTL 6360: Internet in the Educational Community


Module 5 - Essential Question & Inquiry-Based Lesson Plan
Template
Objective: Students will explore how to determine the coefficient of friction
Procedure: Make sure the incline board is flat. Place one of your shoes at the top of your incline
board. SLOWLY and STEADILY raise the incline board, increasing the angle that it makes with the
table, until the shoe JUST BEGINS TO SLIP. Determine the angle of incline of the board when
slippage occurs. Record these values in data table A. Repeat this process twice more. Now
repeat the entire process with another with other lab partners shoe. Next, repeat the procedure but
this time wet the incline board with a few spray of water. Finally use the average angle of incline to
determine the coefficient of static friction between the shoe and the surface. You do not need mass
of the shoe to complete this portion of the lab!

This part of the inquiry lab includes the utilization of a Chrome


book, the internet, and Google docs. There is a link that provides
more background information for the activity and students will
collaborate on answering the questions in the Google doc.
PART II: Reading Scientific Literature
Read the abstract and introduction in the following scientific journal article about flooring and
friction. Read the introduction and the conclusion and then answer questions 5-6. Then skim this
scientific journal article and answer question 7. Finally read this article and answer questions 8-10

This part of the lab involves various internet sources/scientific


articles that students will read and analyze to answer questions.
Students will collaborate on answering the questions in the
Google doc.
PART III: PhET Simulation Use the following link to access the friction PhET simulation
Objective: Students will explore how mass affects friction and the coefficient of friction.
Procedure:
#1 click on the friction box
#2 click all the boxes in the upper right hand corner to turn on the feature of the simulation. Leave
the friction knob in the middle.
#3 hold the mouse arrow over the person and apply a force on one wooden crate until the applied
force is equal to that of friction. Notice how as you push with a force, friction pushes back until
you reach the force necessary to overcome static friction.
a.

What is the number in Newtons _____________________________________. We will


say that just slightly more force will be enough to overcome friction.

#4 If this (the answer from 3a) is the force of friction, calculate the coefficient of friction for the one
wooden box using the equation f = F
N

#5 Repeat this procedure again using two wooden crates and then with a single garbage can
#6 using your physics knowledge and playing with the simulation. Figure out the mass of the
wrapped package. You will put this answer in the question section.

Students will be using a PhET simulation in this part of the lab.

EDTL 6360: Internet in the Educational Community


Module 5 - Essential Question & Inquiry-Based Lesson Plan
Template
PhET is a great online tool to expose students to different
scenarios representing real life concepts. They will explore the
simulation and collaborate on answering the questions in the
Google doc.
PART IV- inquiry based exploration of the coefficient of friction.
You will design TWO procedures, decide what data to collect and create data tables to calculate the
coefficient of friction (either static or kinetic) of sandpaper on particle board. You are finding this
coefficient using two different methods.

Students will use what they have learned from parts 1-3 and
design two different experiments to solve for the coefficient of
friction. They will be collaborating on designing the procedures
and articulating their thoughts in the Google doc.
Resources

Incline board, shoes, Chrome books, Google docs,


Part 1: for further information
Part 2: scientific journal article, scientific journal article, article
Part 3: friction PhET simulation

Part 4: various materials that students desire to test their


experiment.
The Final
Product

A lab report will be the final product. Essential questions are


answered in lab report questions.

What will students


produce that
represents their
answers to the
essential questions?

Evaluation
Procedure

SEE RUBRIC

How will student work


be assessed?

Attach Rubric
Pa
rt
1

10

7.5

Answered
all lab
questions
completely
and
accurately

Answered
all lab
questions
to an
acceptable
extent, but
may be
missing
some key
information

Answered
at least
the
questions
correctly

Did not find the


relationship/show
attempt to do so

Was able to
correctly
identify the

Showed
work
attempting
to find the

Did not answer


questions/provided
incorrect answers

EDTL 6360: Internet in the Educational Community


Module 5 - Essential Question & Inquiry-Based Lesson Plan
Template
relationship
between
the angle
of slipping
and the
coefficient
of static
friction

essential to
fully
understand
ing

Pa
rt
2

Answere
d all ?s
correctly

Pa
rt
3

Answere
d all ?s
correctly

Answere
d of
the
question
s
correctly
Answere Answere
d all ?s
d of
correctly the
question
Incorrectl s
y
correctly
calculate
d
Incorrect
coefficien ly
t
calculate
d
coefficie
nt
Successf Successf
ully
ully
designed designed
1
1
experime experime
nt
nt

Correctly
calculate
d
coefficien
t

Pa
rt
4

Successf
ully
designed
2
experime
nts to
correctly
calculate
coefficien
t`

relationshi
p

Was able to
correctly
identify the
relationship
between
the angle
of slipping
and the
coefficient
of static
friction

Attempte
da
second

Incomplete/Inco
rect

Incomplete/Inco
rect

Unsuccessfully
designed 1
experiment

EDTL 6360: Internet in the Educational Community


Module 5 - Essential Question & Inquiry-Based Lesson Plan
Template

Teacher
Reflection

What problems do you anticipate with this lesson?


I anticipate students struggling with part 4, designing two of
their own procedures. This is an abstract concept for many of
the students.
I also am anticipating connectivity issues, because as good as
the wifi in the school is, there is always a chance it could go out.
My way around that is to still have them write out the lab
procedure in their lab notebooks. That way, they have a paper
copy to go off of and they can continue to work on another part.
How will this lesson fit into your overall curriculum
planning?
This was actually a lesson I did this week in my AP Physics Class.
It fits into my unit on forces. I try to incorporate a few inquirybased labs per unit. The use of technology is new, but I think the
PhET adds a whole new layer to the lesson.

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