Driving and Resisting Forces - Lab Report Example

GSC336, LAB DRIVING AND RESISTING FORCES Semester: Objective: Gain a deeper understanding of Driving and Resisting Forces by building a simple model and applying your knowledge, Data MatrixSlope angle (radians)Slope angle (Degrees)Shear stress (acts to impel material downslope)Normal stress (acts to hold material in place)00098000.15.729577951978.36748319751.040820.211.45915591946.9594429604.6524630.317.188733852896.0980259362.2975930.422.918311813816.2997559026.3977410.528.647889764698.3702788600.3091070.634.

377467715533.4962398088.2890260.740.107045666313.3333357495.4534350.845.836623617030.0896916827.7257520.951.566201567676.6037146091.777689157.295779518246.4156515294.9625981.163.025357468733.8321294445.241991.268.754935429133.9830423551.1059941.374.484513379442.8702172621.4885211.480.214091329657.4073541665.6781.585.943669279775.450869693.22457631.5789.954373849799.9968937.804001765Scatter PlotQuestions1.Is shearing force a Driving or Resisting Force? Is normal force a Driving or Resisting force?

Which is which? In your own words, justify your answers. (5 pts)Shear force is a driving force because its effect is felt parallel to the slope. The normal force is a resisting force because it affects acts perpendicular to the slope (Lemke).2. In your own words, explain Normal and Resisting Forces using a Boulder on a hillslope as an example. Hint: see your textbook, Chapter 1, for help. (5 pts) Normal forces or resting forces on a boulder cliff tend to restrict the movement of an object. The angle of the slope is a contributing factor to the movement of a boulder along a hill slope.

Additionally, the stability of the slope also affects the movement of an object. In this case, factors such as friction and cohesion determine how fast an object moves (Lemke).3. Based on your scatter plot and knowledge acquired from your textbook, what is the critical angle, in degrees, that determines if the boulder would move, or not? Why did you choose this angle? (5 pts)The critical angle for determining whether the boulder would move, or not is 45.840 degrees. At this point, the boulder would assume a stationary motion.

The value is arrived at by observing the point of intersection between the curves of shear and normal stress.4. A local business informs you they have a 1 m-thick rock slab with a density of 1000 kg m-3 lying in their backyard that slopes at 25 degrees. Given normal weather conditions and unsaturated soils, will this rock slide and potentially destroy their business? Justify your answer in terms of angle, Driving, and Resisting forces. (5 pts) At 25 degrees, the sheer force on the rock will be 984.

807753 while the normal stress will be 173.6481777 (in the opposite direction). This means that the forces propelling the rock slab downwards are greater than the resisting forces. Assuming that the weather conditions remain at normal levels it is highly likely that the rock in question will inflict considerable damage to the surrounding property.