Question #d6539
1 Answer
When you say frictional force, I am assuming you just mean friction. I will also suppose we are using an example where we have a smooth wooden block sliding down a semi-rough inclined ramp. Thus I will be referring to static friction, which I will call
Friction is in some sense a reaction force (although strictly speaking it is not, it is intuitive to call it that for a reason I will get to in a moment), because it decreases as the incline angle increases since the parallel component of the force due to gravity starts to vanish; at an angle perpendicular to the flat surface on which the ramp is laid, there is only the vertical component to the force due to gravity (
The parallel component of the force due to gravity might be called
You can tell that this occurs since the wooden block starts to slide down the ramp as the angle increases, indicating a lower coefficient of static friction (and thus a lower static friction) along the ramp and proving that its magnitude is proportional to the magnitude of its opposing force. That is why I said it was intuitive to call it a "reaction force", even though it is not reacting to an applied force.
A fun problem with friction is:
At what angle would a wooden block on a ramp not slide down, if
with positive