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Inclined Plane

 Authors: Ms. Giselle dos Santos Castro - Federal University of Ceara - UFC
                   Dr. Nildo Loiola Dias - Federal University of Ceara - UFC

CONTROLS: 

- The Plane Slope cursor allows you to choose the slope of the plane.
- The Block mass cursor allows you to choose the mass between 50 g and 300 g.
- The Static friction cursor allows you to vary the coefficient of static friction between the block and the plane. When the coefficient of static friction is zero, the coefficient of kinetic friction is also zero and cannot be changed.
- The Kinetic friction cursor allows you to vary the coefficient of kinetic friction between the block and the plane. This cursor is only visible when the coefficient of static friction is non-zero. The coefficient of kinetic friction will always be less than or equal to the coefficient of static friction, and can be chosen between zero and this maximum value.
- There are two possibilities to choose the acceleration of gravity: Earth or Planet X.
- The Protractor button allows you to view a protractor in order to measure the inclination of the inclined plane.
- There are three pairs of surfaces with unknown coefficients of friction. When choosing one of the three options, the cursors for choosing the friction coefficients are no longer visible.
- The Release button allows the block to be free, being able to move or not depending on the friction coefficient and the slope of the plane. At the same time the stopwatch is started.
- The Impulse button causes an instantaneous downward thrust of the block on the inclined plane in order to overcome the force of static friction.
- The Reset button places the block in the starting position on the inclined plane.


DESCRIPTION OF THE SIMULATION:

This simulation allows the study of the movement of a block on an inclined plane under different conditions. It is possible to leave the system with the gravity of Earth or with the gravity of an unknown planet. The mass of the block can be changed, the angle of inclination of the plane can be adjusted, a protractor allows to measure the inclination of the inclined plane. The static and kinetic friction coefficients can be chosen or the user can choose a surface pair (out of three possibilities) in order to determine the friction coefficients. A stopwatch allows you to measure the time of the block's descent movement. It is also possible to determine the local acceleration due to gravity.


For an analysis of the data, consult one of the proposed ACTIVITY GUIDE.​ 
 

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