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Mu of a Shoe: A Physics Lab

Saffi C. '24
Written by Saffi C. '24, Marketing/Comms Intern

Physics students are currently working on a lab to explore the friction (or Mu) of a shoe as it moves along a floor. The key question for the lab is: How much friction exists between your shoe and the ground?

To answer this question, students use a system called LoggerPro that measures how much friction it takes to move a shoe across the floor, and the black box you see in the picture detects the force applied to the object. Later the groups work to find the relationship between friction force and normal force. This class works together to study how friction is applied to daily objects which is valuable information that can be used in daily situations moving forward. For example, we can experience friction when driving - when the brakes are applied, friction stops the vehicle from moving and also prevents a car from skidding as you drive along the road.
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