Not-So-Heavy Friction
Most recent answer: 10/22/2007
Q:
does friction have weight?
- annie (age 11)
singapore
- annie (age 11)
singapore
A:
Annie -
Friction, like gravity, is a force. It works to make things in contact move together with each other. But it’s not something that you could pick up and hold in your hand - it has no weight of its own. But how much friction an object feels can depend on how much the object weighs. For instance, let’s say you were dragging a heavy block across the floor. The reason that it’s hard to pull on the block is because of friction between the block and the floor. And the heavier the block is, the stronger the force of friction is, making it even harder to pull.
-Tamara
Friction, like gravity, is a force. It works to make things in contact move together with each other. But it’s not something that you could pick up and hold in your hand - it has no weight of its own. But how much friction an object feels can depend on how much the object weighs. For instance, let’s say you were dragging a heavy block across the floor. The reason that it’s hard to pull on the block is because of friction between the block and the floor. And the heavier the block is, the stronger the force of friction is, making it even harder to pull.
-Tamara
(published on 10/22/2007)