Four students are assigned a project for which they must experimentally determine the coefficient of kinetic friction between a block of....?
Four students are assigned a project for which they must experimentally determine the coefficient of kinetic friction between a block of an unknown material and a table. Each student has their own idea of how to go about setting up the experiment. The group settles on two possible test to conduct: Student A's idea and Student B's idea. Student A believes the group can obtain the coefficient of kinetic friction by attaching a spring scale to the mass and pulling on the mass with the spring scale with a horizontally directed force. The reading on the spring scale at the moment the block begins to move is the coefficient of kinetic friction. Which of the following explains what is wrong with Student A's logic?