Inclined Plane with Friction
Release a block from rest on a ramp — adjust the angle, friction, and ramp length to see whether it slides, and how fast it reaches the bottom.
Preview — sign up free to change the numbers yourself
What you can adjust
- Incline angle
- 5 – 60 deg
- Gravity (g)
- 1 – 25 m/s²
- Kinetic friction (μk)
- 0 – 1
- Static friction (μs)
- 0 – 1
- Ramp length
- 1 – 20 m
Friction while the block is already sliding. 0 = frictionless.
Friction that must be overcome before the block starts moving at all. If tan(angle) doesn't exceed this, the block stays put. Must be at least the kinetic friction value.
Distance from the block's starting point to the bottom of the ramp.
About this simulation
What it shows
A block is released from rest on a ramp with friction. It either stays put or slides to the bottom, and its speed and time are read out.
The key idea
The block only starts to move if tan(angle) is bigger than the static friction coefficient. Once sliding, its acceleration is g(sin θ − μk cos θ), and the mass cancels out.
Try this
With Static friction (μs) at 0.4, set Incline angle to 20° (the block stays put) and then 25° (it slides): the switch is at about 22°.