Which of the following statements about friction is incorrect?

The statement regarding the force of static friction depending on the surface area is incorrect. Static friction does not directly depend on the surface area of contact between two objects; rather, it is influenced more significantly by the nature of the surfaces involved and the normal force pressing the materials together.

In contrast, the other statements highlight accurate principles of friction. The force of kinetic friction is typically considered constant for a given pair of materials in motion relative to each other, regardless of the surface area in contact. The force of friction is indeed dependent on the normal force, with greater normal force generally resulting in greater frictional force, reflecting how firmly the two surfaces are pressed together. Moreover, the equation for static friction ( f_s = \mu_s N ) is a fundamental relationship describing how the maximum force of static friction (( f_s )) is determined by the coefficient of static friction (( \mu_s )) and the normal force (( N )).