The effect of skate blade sharpness on the coefficient of friction of ice
School Name
Spring Valley High School
Grade Level
10th Grade
Presentation Topic
Physics
Presentation Type
Non-Mentored
Abstract
Ice skates are a very important tool to those who play ice hockey. Ice skates can be sharpened many different ways but the most common are ⅜, ½, and flat (goalie cut). It is commonly believed that the deeper the hollow on the skate the greater stop ability occurs. In this experiment a ⅜, ½, and flat skates were used in order to see if the friction between the skates and the ice helped create this stopping power. The hypothesis for this experiment was that the amount of friction would not be dependent upon the sharpness of the skate blade. In this experiment two skates were held together using a threaded rod and the threaded rod was held between the skates with nuts and washers. In order to keep the skates parallel, in order to reduce error, a parallel piece of steel was placed in between the skates. Then the skates were pulled 60.26 cm (2 feet) in one direction and the average amount of newtons it took to move that distance was recorded. When the results were collected and analyzed using a one way ANOVA it was found that there was a significant difference between each of the three skates at an α=0.01, F(2, 87)=172.05, p<0.01.
Recommended Citation
Arndt, Dalton, "The effect of skate blade sharpness on the coefficient of friction of ice" (2018). South Carolina Junior Academy of Science. 182.
https://scholarexchange.furman.edu/scjas/2018/all/182
Location
Neville 306
Start Date
4-14-2018 9:30 AM
Presentation Format
Oral and Written
The effect of skate blade sharpness on the coefficient of friction of ice
Neville 306
Ice skates are a very important tool to those who play ice hockey. Ice skates can be sharpened many different ways but the most common are ⅜, ½, and flat (goalie cut). It is commonly believed that the deeper the hollow on the skate the greater stop ability occurs. In this experiment a ⅜, ½, and flat skates were used in order to see if the friction between the skates and the ice helped create this stopping power. The hypothesis for this experiment was that the amount of friction would not be dependent upon the sharpness of the skate blade. In this experiment two skates were held together using a threaded rod and the threaded rod was held between the skates with nuts and washers. In order to keep the skates parallel, in order to reduce error, a parallel piece of steel was placed in between the skates. Then the skates were pulled 60.26 cm (2 feet) in one direction and the average amount of newtons it took to move that distance was recorded. When the results were collected and analyzed using a one way ANOVA it was found that there was a significant difference between each of the three skates at an α=0.01, F(2, 87)=172.05, p<0.01.
