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5.7 Drawing Free-Body Diagrams

The first step in describing and analyzing most phenomena in physics involves the careful drawing of a free-body diagram. Free-body diagrams have been used in examples throughout this chapter. Remember that a free-body diagram must only include the external forces acting on the body of interest. Once we have drawn an accurate free-body diagram, we can apply Newton’s first law if the body is in equilibrium (balanced forces; that is, Fnet=0) or Newton’s second law if the body is accelerating (unbalanced force; that is, Fnet0).

In Forces, we gave a brief problem-solving strategy to help you understand free-body diagrams. Here, we add some details to the strategy that will help you in constructing these diagrams.

Let’s apply the problem-solving strategy in drawing a free-body diagram for a sled. In Figure 5.31(a), a sled is pulled by force P at an angle of 30°. In part (b), we show a free-body diagram for this situation, as described by steps 1 and 2 of the problem-solving strategy. In part (c), we show all forces in terms of their x- and y-components, in keeping with step 3.

Figure a shows a sled of 15 kg. An arrow labeled P pointing right and up forms an angle of 30 degrees with the horizontal. Figure b is a free body diagram with P, N pointing up and w pointing down. Figure c is a free body diagram with P, N, w and two components of P: Px pointing right and Py pointing up.
Figure 5.31 (a) A moving sled is shown as (b) a free-body diagram and (c) a free-body diagram with force components.

Summary

  • To draw a free-body diagram, we draw the object of interest, draw all forces acting on that object, and resolve all force vectors into x- and y-components. We must draw a separate free-body diagram for each object in the problem.
  • A free-body diagram is a useful means of describing and analyzing all the forces that act on a body to determine equilibrium according to Newton’s first law or acceleration according to Newton’s second law.

Key Equations

Net external forceFnet=F=F1+F2+
Newton’s first lawv=constant whenFnet=0N
Newton’s second law, vector formFnet=F=ma
Newton’s second law, scalar formFnet=ma
Newton’s second law, component formFx=max,Fy=may,andFz=maz.
Newton’s second law, momentum formFnet=dpdt
Definition of weight, vector formw=mg
Definition of weight, scalar formw=mg
Newton’s third lawFAB=FBA
Normal force on an object resting on a
horizontal surface, vector form
N=mg
Normal force on an object resting on a
horizontal surface, scalar form
N=mg
Normal force on an object resting on an
inclined plane, scalar form
N=mgcosθ
Restoring force by a spring displaced by
x from the relaxed position
F=kx.
Tension in a cable supporting an object
of mass m at rest, scalar form
T=w=mg

Conceptual Questions

In completing the solution for a problem involving forces, what do we do after constructing the free-body diagram? That is, what do we apply?

If a book is located on a table, how many forces should be shown in a free-body diagram of the book? Describe them.

two forces of different types: weight acting downward and normal force acting upward

If the book in the previous question is in free fall, how many forces should be shown in a free-body diagram of the book? Describe them.

Problems

A ball of mass m hangs at rest, suspended by a string. (a) Sketch all forces. (b) Draw the free-body diagram for the ball.

A car moves along a horizontal road. Draw a free-body diagram; be sure to include the friction of the road that opposes the forward motion of the car.

A free body diagram shows a vector F subscript e pointing right, vector N pointing up, vector f pointing left and arrow w pointing down.

A runner pushes against the track, as shown. (a) Provide a free-body diagram showing all the forces on the runner. (Hint: Place all forces at the center of his body, and include his weight.) (b) Give a revised diagram showing the xy-component form.

A picture of a man running towards the right is shown. An arrow labeled F points up and right from the floor towards his foot.
Figure 5.33 (credit: modification of work by "Greenwich Photography"/Flickr)

The traffic light hangs from the cables as shown. Draw a free-body diagram on a coordinate plane for this situation.

Figure shows a traffic light hanging from a horizontal cable by three other cables, T1, T2 and T3. T1 hangs down and right making an angle of 41 degrees with the horizontal cable. T2 hangs down and left, making an angle of 63 degrees with the horizontal cable. These meet at a point and T3 hangs vertically down from here. The light is attached to T3. A vector pointing down from the light is labeled w equal to 200 newtons.

Figure shows coordinate axes. Three arrows radiate out from the origin. T1, labeled 41 degrees points up and left. T2, labeled 63 degrees points up and right. T3 equal to w equal to 200 N is along the negative y axis.

Additional Problems

Two small forces, F1=−2.40i^6.10j^ N and F2=8.50i^9.70j^ N, are exerted on a rogue asteroid by a pair of space tractors. (a) Find the net force. (b) What are the magnitude and direction of the net force? (c) If the mass of the asteroid is 125 kg, what acceleration does it experience (in vector form)? (d) What are the magnitude and direction of the acceleration?

Two forces of 25 and 45 N act on an object. Their directions differ by 70°. The resulting acceleration has magnitude of 10.0m/s2. What is the mass of the body?

5.90 kg

A force of 1600 N acts parallel to a ramp to push a 300-kg piano into a moving van. The ramp is inclined at 20°. (a) What is the acceleration of the piano up the ramp? (b) What is the velocity of the piano when it reaches the top if the ramp is 4.0 m long and the piano starts from rest?

Draw a free-body diagram of a diver who has entered the water, moved downward, and is acted on by an upward force due to the water which balances the weight (that is, the diver is suspended).

A free body diagram with arrow F pointing up and arrow w pointing down.

For a swimmer who has just jumped off a diving board, assume air resistance is negligible. The swimmer has a mass of 80.0 kg and jumps off a board 10.0 m above the water. Three seconds after entering the water, her downward motion is stopped. What average upward force did the water exert on her?

(a) Find an equation to determine the magnitude of the net force required to stop a car of mass m, given that the initial speed of the car is v0 and the stopping distance is x. (b) Find the magnitude of the net force if the mass of the car is 1050 kg, the initial speed is 40.0 km/h, and the stopping distance is 25.0 m.

a. Fnet=m(v2v02)2x; b. 2590 N

A sailboat has a mass of 1.50×103 kg and is acted on by a force of 2.00×103 N toward the east, while the wind acts behind the sails with a force of 3.00×103 N in a direction 45° north of east. Find the magnitude and direction of the resulting acceleration.

Find the acceleration of the body of mass 10.0 kg shown below.

Three arrow radiate outwards from a circle labeled m. F1, equal to 10 N, points vertically down. F2, equal to 20 N, points up and right, making an angle of  minus 37 degrees with the positive y axis. F3, equal to 10 N, points up and left, making an angle of 37 degrees with the positive y axis.

Fnet=F1+F2+F3=(6.02i^+14.0j^)N Fnet=maa=Fnetm=6.02i^+14.0j^N10.0kg= (0.602i^+1.40j^)m/s2

A body of mass 2.0 kg is moving along the x-axis with a speed of 3.0 m/s at the instant represented below. (a) What is the acceleration of the body? (b) What is the body’s velocity 10.0 s later? (c) What is its displacement after 10.0 s?

Three arrow radiate outwards from a circle labeled m. F1, equal to 50 N, points up and right, making an angle of 37 degrees with the x axis. F2, equal to 30 N, points left and down, making an angle of minus 30 degrees with the negative y axis. F3, equal to 80 N, points left.

Force FB has twice the magnitude of force FA. Find the direction in which the particle accelerates in this figure.

Two arrows radiate outwards from a circle labeled m. F subscript A points right. F subscript B points down and left, making an angle of 45 degrees with the horizontal.

Fnet=FA+FBFnet=Ai^+(−1.41Ai^1.41Aj^)Fnet=A(−0.41i^1.41j^)θ=254°
(We add 180°, because the angle is in quadrant IV.)

Shown below is a body of mass 1.0 kg under the influence of the forces FA, FB, and mg. If the body accelerates to the left at 20m/s2, what are FA and FB?

Three arrows radiate outwards from a point labeled m. F subscript A points left and down, making an angle of 60 degrees with the negative x axis. F subscript B points left and up, making an angle of minus 30 degrees with the negative x axis. Vector mg points vertically down.

A force acts on a car of mass m so that the speed v of the car increases with position x as v=kx2, where k is constant and all quantities are in SI units. Find the force acting on the car as a function of position.

F=2mk2x2; First, take the derivative of the velocity function to obtain a=2kxv=2kx(kx2)=2k2x3. Then apply Newton’s second law F=ma=2mk2x2.

A 7.0-N force parallel to an incline is applied to a 1.0-kg crate. The ramp is tilted at 20° and is frictionless. (a) What is the acceleration of the crate? (b) If all other conditions are the same but the ramp has a friction force of 1.9 N, what is the acceleration?

Two boxes, A and B, are at rest. Box A is on level ground, while box B rests on an inclined plane tilted at angle θ with the horizontal. (a) Write expressions for the normal force acting on each block. (b) Compare the two forces; that is, tell which one is larger or whether they are equal in magnitude. (c) If the angle of incline is 10°, which force is greater?

a. For box A, NA=mg and NB=mgcosθ; b. NA>NB because for θ<90°, cosθ<1; c. NA>NB when θ=10°

A mass of 250.0 g is suspended from a spring hanging vertically. The spring stretches 6.00 cm. How much will the spring stretch if the suspended mass is 530.0 g?

As shown below, two identical springs, each with the spring constant 20 N/m, support a 15.0-N weight. (a) What is the tension in spring A? (b) What is the amount of stretch of spring A from the rest position?

Figure shows two identical springs hanging side by side. Their lower ends are brought together and support a weight. Each spring makes an angle of 30 degrees with the vertical.

a. 8.66 N; b. 0.433 m

Shown below is a 30.0-kg block resting on a frictionless ramp inclined at 60° to the horizontal. The block is held by a spring that is stretched 5.0 cm. What is the force constant of the spring?

Figure shows a surface sloping down and left, making an angle of 60 degrees with the horizontal. An object of 30 kg hangs from a spring and rests on the slope.

In building a house, carpenters use nails from a large box. The box is suspended from a spring twice during the day to measure the usage of nails. At the beginning of the day, the spring stretches 50 cm. At the end of the day, the spring stretches 30 cm. What fraction or percentage of the nails have been used?

0.40 or 40%

A force is applied to a block to move it up a 30° incline. The incline is frictionless. If F=65.0N and M=5.00kg, what is the magnitude of the acceleration of the block?

Figure shows a surface sloping down and right, making an angle of 30 degrees with the horizontal. A box labeled M rests on it. An arrow labeled F points horizontally left towards the box. The angle formed by the arrow and the slope is 30 degrees.

Two forces are applied to a 5.0-kg object, and it accelerates at a rate of 2.0m/s2 in the positive y-direction. If one of the forces acts in the positive x-direction with magnitude 12.0 N, find the magnitude of the other force.

16 N

The block on the right shown below has more mass than the block on the left (m2>m1). Draw free-body diagrams for each block.

A pulley is attached to the ceiling. A rope goes over it. A block of mass m1 is attached to the left end of the rope and another block labeled m2 is attached to the right end of the rope. M2 hangs lower than m1.

Challenge Problems

If two tugboats pull on a disabled vessel, as shown here in an overhead view, the disabled vessel will be pulled along the direction indicated by the result of the exerted forces. (a) Draw a free-body diagram for the vessel. Assume no friction or drag forces affect the vessel. (b) Did you include all forces in the overhead view in your free-body diagram? Why or why not?

Figure shows the top view of two tugboats pulling a disabled vessel to the left. Arrow F1 is along the line connecting the vessel to the top tugboat. Arrow F2 is along the line connecting the vessel to the bottom tugboat. F1 is longer than F2. Arrow F subscript R shows the combined force. It is in between F1 and F2, pointing left and slightly up.

a.

Figure shows a free body diagram with F1 pointing up and left and F2 pointing down and left.
; b. No; FR is not shown, because it would replace F1 and F2. (If we want to show it, we could draw it and then place squiggly lines on F1 and F2 to show that they are no longer considered.

A 10.0-kg object is initially moving east at 15.0 m/s. Then a force acts on it for 2.00 s, after which it moves northwest, also at 15.0 m/s. What are the magnitude and direction of the average force that acted on the object over the 2.00-s interval?

On June 25, 1983, shot-putter Udo Beyer of East Germany threw the 7.26-kg shot 22.22 m, which at that time was a world record. (a) If the shot was released at a height of 2.20 m with a projection angle of 45.0°, what was its initial velocity? (b) If while in Beyer’s hand the shot was accelerated uniformly over a distance of 1.20 m, what was the net force on it?

a. 14.1 m/s; b. 601 N

A body of mass m moves in a horizontal direction such that at time t its position is given by x(t)=at4+bt3+ct, where a, b, and c are constants. (a) What is the acceleration of the body? (b) What is the time-dependent force acting on the body?

A body of mass m has initial velocity v0 in the positive x-direction. It is acted on by a constant force F for time t until the velocity becomes zero; the force continues to act on the body until its velocity becomes v0 in the same amount of time. Write an expression for the total distance the body travels in terms of the variables indicated.

Fmt2

The velocities of a 3.0-kg object at t=6.0s and t=8.0s are (3.0i^6.0j^+4.0k^)m/s and (−2.0i^+4.0k^)m/s, respectively. If the object is moving at constant acceleration, what is the force acting on it?

A 120-kg astronaut is riding in a rocket sled that is sliding along an inclined plane. The sled has a horizontal component of acceleration of 5.0m/s2 and a downward component of 3.8m/s2. Calculate the magnitude of the force on the rider by the sled. (Hint: Remember that gravitational acceleration must be considered.)

936 N

Two forces are acting on a 5.0-kg object that moves with acceleration 2.0m/s2 in the positive y-direction. If one of the forces acts in the positive x-direction and has magnitude of 12 N, what is the magnitude of the other force?

Suppose that you are viewing a soccer game from a helicopter above the playing field. Two soccer players simultaneously kick a stationary soccer ball on the flat field; the soccer ball has mass 0.420 kg. The first player kicks with force 162 N at 9.0° north of west. At the same instant, the second player kicks with force 215 N at 15° east of south. Find the acceleration of the ball in i^ and j^ form.

a=−248i^433j^m/s2

A 10.0-kg mass hangs from a spring that has the spring constant 535 N/m. Find the position of the end of the spring away from its rest position. (Use g=9.80m/s2.)

A 0.0502-kg pair of fuzzy dice is attached to the rearview mirror of a car by a short string. The car accelerates at constant rate, and the dice hang at an angle of 3.20° from the vertical because of the car’s acceleration. What is the magnitude of the acceleration of the car?

0.548m/s2

At a circus, a donkey pulls on a sled carrying a small clown with a force given by 2.48i^+4.33j^N. A horse pulls on the same sled, aiding the hapless donkey, with a force of 6.56i^+5.33j^N. The mass of the sled is 575 kg. Using i^ and j^ form for the answer to each problem, find (a) the net force on the sled when the two animals act together, (b) the acceleration of the sled, and (c) the velocity after 6.50 s.

Hanging from the ceiling over a baby bed, well out of baby’s reach, is a string with plastic shapes, as shown here. The string is taut (there is no slack), as shown by the straight segments. Each plastic shape has the same mass m, and they are equally spaced by a distance d, as shown. The angles labeled θ describe the angle formed by the end of the string and the ceiling at each end. The center length of sting is horizontal. The remaining two segments each form an angle with the horizontal, labeled ϕ. Let T1 be the tension in the leftmost section of the string, T2 be the tension in the section adjacent to it, and T3 be the tension in the horizontal segment. (a) Find an equation for the tension in each section of the string in terms of the variables m, g, and θ. (b) Find the angle ϕ in terms of the angle θ. (c) If θ=5.10°, what is the value of ϕ? (d) Find the distance x between the endpoints in terms of d and θ.

Figure shows four shapes hanging on a string that is attached to the ceiling at both ends. The shapes divide the string in five equal segments, each having length d. The middle segment is horizontal. The distance between the two ends of the string is x. The angles between the ceiling and the segments closest to the ceiling are both labeled theta. The angles formed by the first segments from the ceiling with their adjoining segments are both labeled phi.

a. T1=2mgsinθ, T2=mgsin(arctan(12tanθ)), T3=2mgtanθ; b. ϕ=arctan(12tanθ); c. 2.56°; (d) x=d(2cosθ+2cos(arctan(12tanθ))+1)

A bullet shot from a rifle has mass of 10.0 g and travels to the right at 350 m/s. It strikes a target, a large bag of sand, penetrating it a distance of 34.0 cm. Find the magnitude and direction of the retarding force that slows and stops the bullet.

An object is acted on by three simultaneous forces: F1=(−3.00i^+2.00j^)N, F2=(6.00i^4.00j^)N, and F3=(2.00i^+5.00j^)N. The object experiences acceleration of 4.23m/s2. (a) Find the acceleration vector in terms of m. (b) Find the mass of the object. (c) If the object begins from rest, find its speed after 5.00 s. (d) Find the components of the velocity of the object after 5.00 s.

a. a=(5.00mi^+3.00mj^)m/s2; b. 1.38 kg; c. 21.2 m/s; d. v=(18.1i^+10.9j^)m/s2

In a particle accelerator, a proton has mass 1.67×10−27kg and an initial speed of 2.00×105m/s. It moves in a straight line, and its speed increases to 9.00×105m/s in a distance of 10.0 cm. Assume that the acceleration is constant. Find the magnitude of the force exerted on the proton.

A drone is being directed across a frictionless ice-covered lake. The mass of the drone is 1.50 kg, and its velocity is 3.00i^m/s. After 10.0 s, the velocity is 9.00i^+4.00j^m/s. If a constant force in the horizontal direction is causing this change in motion, find (a) the components of the force and (b) the magnitude of the force.

a. 0.900i^+0.600j^N; b. 1.08 N