Suppose the contact force exerted by a rough horizontal surface on a body resting on it has a constant magnitude. If the angle between this contact force and the vertical is reduced, the frictional force acting between the body and the surface will

Step-by-step solution

Let the contact force exerted by the surface on the body be F_c . The contact force can be resolved into two mutually perpendicular components: 1. Normal reaction N acting vertically upwards. 2. Frictional force f acting horizontally along the surface. Let be the angle between the contact force and the vertical. From the resolution of vectors, the frictional force is given by: f = F_c It is given that the magnitude of the contact force F_c is constant and the angle is reduced. For an acute angle , as decreases, the