Analysis

We saw from our data that the each shoe had a different friction force for each way we measured the friction. For example the running shoes' greatest friction force was sideways-stopping friction, while the basketball and walking shoes' was forward stopping friction. I believe that this mostly because of the different tread patterns.

The running shoe had treads going across in curved lines, so it would slow down the shoe moving forwards or backwards, but because of the curve in the lines, to stop sideways (sideways stopping friction) would have to have the most friction force to overcome the friction. That shoe did however, have all of its friction forces (starting, sideways, forward frictions very close.

The basketball shoe and the walking shoe both had unusual tread pattens, the basketball shoe had circular treads, and the walking shoe had diamond shaped treads. The basketball shoes may have had treads like that because the shoe is made for moving quickly, running across courts. The forward stopping friction is good for this shoe because the shoe can quickly stop and start. The walking shoe must also be able to stop and start, because the purpose of the shoe is to walk.

The way this experiment could be improved for the better is to include more types of shoes, with a wider range of purposes so it is easier to see if the tread patterns and purpose of the shoe is linked.