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Forces on Objects on Slopes

Forces acting on an object on an inclined plane can be resolved into two components - the normal force perpendicular to the plane which counteracts the force pushing into the plane, and the parallel force pushing down the slope. The object's weight can also be resolved into perpendicular and parallel components. The normal force equals the weight's perpendicular component, and the parallel component's downward force is counteracted by friction for an object at rest, or acts unopposed as the driving force if friction is ignored.

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Xolani Moffat
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102 views6 pages

Forces on Objects on Slopes

Forces acting on an object on an inclined plane can be resolved into two components - the normal force perpendicular to the plane which counteracts the force pushing into the plane, and the parallel force pushing down the slope. The object's weight can also be resolved into perpendicular and parallel components. The normal force equals the weight's perpendicular component, and the parallel component's downward force is counteracted by friction for an object at rest, or acts unopposed as the driving force if friction is ignored.

Uploaded by

Xolani Moffat
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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PF 1.

2 Forces on Slopes

We will look at the gravitational force acting on an object on a slope.


These can be divided into two components, the normal (resisting)
force pushing into the slope which produces friction and the shear or
driving force pushing the block down the slope. So we must consider
forces parallel and perpendicular to the slope.
Forces on object sliding downhill

Diagrams of forces acting on an inclined plane

Just as we can analyse the horizontal and vertical components of the


motion of an object separately, we can look at components parallel
to, and perpendicular to, the sloping surface as well. The normal
force of an object placed on a sloping surface is always perpendicular
to the surface and the other forces are parallel to the surface. See
diagrams below.

Forces acting on a block on an inclined plane:


(At rest or slipping down the plane.)
2

Weight Force acting on a block resolved into its components:


Perpendicular and parallel to the incline. Remember that the normal
force FN is equal and opposite to the force exerted by the object on
the plane mg cos θ (perpendicular to plane) otherwise it would fall
through the plane, and mg sin θ (parallel to plane) forcing the object
down the plane if no friction occurs.

To work out the angles remember sum of angles in any triangle is


180 degrees and remember a right angle is 90 degrees.

Note that with the above diagrams:


• Weight = mg; acts through the centre of mass.

• Normal force FN is always at right angles to the surface.

• Friction acts to oppose sliding motion (eg, if the mass were being
dragged uphill, friction would act downhill)

• The weight force is resolved into 2 components:

– (1) perpendicular to plane, and


– (2) parallel to the plane.
3

• The resultant force ΣF down the slope is given by ΣF = mg sin θ −


Ff where Ff is friction

• The resultant force ΣF perpendicular to the slope is zero (because


it sits on the slope), hence: mg cos θ = FN

Example:

A toy car of mass 50g travels down a smooth incline at 30 degrees to


the horizontal. Calculate:
(a) The net force acting on the car as it rolls down the slope, and
(b) The force of the incline on the car as it travels down the
slope. Friction may be ignored in this
case. Gravity = 9.8ms−2 .

Forces parallel to slope:

Note the angles: If slope is 30 degrees then 90 − 30 = 60 degrees


in top corner then again 90 − 60 = 30 degrees from normal to vertical
force so we would use mg sin 30 down the slope as the sum of all
forces.
4

(a) As mg sin θ is the component of the force parallel to the


slope then “sum of all forces” = ΣF:

ΣF = ma
= mg sin θ − Ff
= mg sin θ − 0
= mg sin θ

Where mg sin θ is the component of the force parallel to the slope.


Note: the surface is friction-less (smooth) ie. Ff = 0, therefore the
only force allowing the car to roll down the incline is the component
of the gravitational force ‘mg sin θ’ .

ΣF = mg sin θ
= m × g × sin θ
= 50 × 10−3 × 9.8 × sin 30
= 0.25N

Note: grams have been converted into kilograms


5

Forces perpendicular to slope:

Also note the angles: If slope is 30 degrees then 90 − 30 = 60


degrees in top corner then again 90 − 60 = 30 degrees from normal
to vertical force so we use mg cos 30 perpendicular to the slope as the
normal force.
(b) The force of the incline on the car is a force that acts per-
pendicular to the slope, ie. the normal force FN is equal to mg cos θ

FN = mg cos θ
= m × g × cos θ
= 50 × 10−3 × 9.8 × cos 30
= 0.43N

Trivia

The steepest road in the world is in Dunedin, New Zealand. It has an


incline of 52 degrees. Ignoring friction, a car left with its handbrake
off would accelerate down this street at:
6

a = g × sin θ
= 9.8 × sin 52
= 7.7ms−2

Hint: always draw the diagram of what is happening. The force


along the slope is mg sin θ so ΣF = ma = mg sin θ since there is no
frictional force.

Exercise
1. A skateboarder riding a skateboard of total mass 60kg coasts down a
friction-less ramp at an angle of 30 degrees to the horizontal.
Remember g = 9.8ms−2.
(a) Calculate the normal force acting on the rider and
skateboard.
(b) Calculate the force acting on the rider and skateboard
parallel to the ramp.

2. The skateboarder now coasts down another ramp, but this time
the ramp has a rough surface.
(a) Calculate the normal force acting on the rider and
skateboard.
(b) Calculate the force acting on the rider and skateboard
parallel to the ramp.
(c) If the ramp has a frictional force of 54N, what is the net force acting
on the rider and the skateboard?
(d) Calculate the acceleration of the skateboarder.
(e) If the skateboarder started from rest, and the ramp is 4m long, what
was the speed of the skateboarder at the bottom of the ramp?

Answers to Exercise:

1. a. 509N b. 294N
. 2. a. 509N b. 294N c.240N d.4ms−2 e. 5.7ms−1

Note: All diagrams created by RMIT ASA staff

Common questions

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It is crucial to consider the frictional force because it opposes the motion, effectively reducing the net force that causes a body to slide down. The formula for net force on an inclined plane is ΣF = mg sin θ - Ff, where Ff is the frictional force. Ignoring friction simplifies the calculation to ΣF = mg sin θ, suggesting the total force prompting motion is solely the parallel component of gravity .

In a smooth incline scenario, as for the toy car, acceleration is solely due to gravity, calculated as a = g sin θ. For a rough incline, as with the skateboarder, friction reduces the effective gravitational force, leading to a reduced acceleration. This difference highlights how friction, present on rough surfaces, directly opposes and diminishes the driving force, resulting in different dynamic outcomes for similar gravity-driven movements .

In a real-world scenario, friction acts against the direction of motion, reducing the net force and thereby slowing down the acceleration compared to an ideal frictionless inclined plane. The frictional force Ff is subtracted from the driving force (mg sin θ), as shown by the adjusted net force formula ΣF = mg sin θ - Ff. This results in decreased acceleration and can even prevent movement if the frictional force is greater than or equal to the parallel component of gravity .

On a rough surface, the net force is calculated by considering both the gravitational force component and friction: ΣF = mg sin θ - Ff, where Ff is the frictional force. For a rough surface with known friction, it directly reduces the driving force, requiring subtraction from the gravitational component to find the net force. An example involves a 60 kg skateboarder and a friction force of 54 N, yielding a net force of 240 N .

The normal force on the skateboarder is determined by the mass of the skateboarder, the gravitational pull (9.8 m/s²), and the cosine of the ramp's angle. At a 30-degree incline, the normal force calculation is FN = mg cos 30. For a 60 kg skateboarder, FN equals 60 kg × 9.8 m/s² × cos 30 = 509 N, indicating the perpendicular force the ramp exerts against gravity .

The acceleration a is determined using the net force calculation, ΣF = ma, where ΣF is the net force after subtracting friction from the gravitational component. For further calculation of velocity at the end of the ramp, the kinematic formula v² = u² + 2as can be applied, with u initial velocity (at rest, so u=0), a the found acceleration, and s the length of the ramp, enabling v (final velocity) calculation .

On a smooth incline without friction, the net force ΣF is calculated as ΣF = mg sin θ. This calculation assumes no frictional forces are present, meaning Ff = 0, and that the only force contributing to motion is the parallel component of gravity. This assumption simplifies the dynamics by removing any opposing forces aside from air resistance, which is typically negligible .

The angle of incline directly affects the component of gravitational force acting parallel to the slope, thereby determining the acceleration. Without friction, the acceleration is a = g sin θ. For a steep incline, such as 52 degrees, the component of gravitational force is larger, resulting in greater acceleration. For instance, an incline of 52 degrees leads to an acceleration of a = 9.8 × sin 52 = 7.7 m/s² .

The gravitational force acting on an object on a slope is decomposed into two components: one perpendicular to the slope, known as the normal force (mg cos θ), which resists motion by providing friction, and one parallel to the slope (mg sin θ), which drives the object down the slope. Analyzing these components separately allows us to understand how the body will move, as the parallel component is responsible for any potential sliding, while the perpendicular component helps determine the frictional force .

The normal force (FN) can be calculated using the formula FN = mg cos θ, where θ is the angle of the incline. This indicates that the normal force is directly related to the cosine of the incline angle, showing it decreases as the angle increases, which reflects the diminishing perpendicular component of weight acting on the surface .

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