Dynamics – 5

Free Body Diagrams

 Free Body Diagram (FBD)
A FBD is a simplified representation of the forces acting on a body.
Guidelines
1) the body is represented as a point
- drawn as a large dot for visibility
- considered as a geometric point therefore infinitely small
- all forces acting on the body are considered to act on this point)

2) forces are drawn OUTWARDS from the body

- the tails of vectors start on the dot
- the arrowheads should all be directed AWAY from the dot – this is for better visibility

3) only forces acting ON the body are shown

- other information may be shown near the diagram, but is not considered to be part of the diagram
- keep the diagram as clear as possible
Example 1
N
00
5
A 50 kg crate is being dragged along a
floor using an attached rope.
60!

The rope makes an angle of 60° with the 50 kg

horizontal. The person doing the
pulling exerts a force of 500 N in the 23 N
direction of the rope. This a ”picture” of the situation.
It is not a free body diagram

The force of friction between the floor

and the crate is 23 N
 Free Body Diagram (FBD)
Diagram of example problem FBD of example problem

N
500 𝐅⃗𝐍
𝐅⃗𝐀
60!

50 kg A reference line indicating the

𝐅⃗𝐅 surface may be helpful; make
23 N sure to indicate that it is not a
force vector (e.g. use a dashed
It is sometimes suggested that the force vectors be drawn
line)
proportional to their actual values (larger magnitude =
longer arrow), but since one of more of the force vectors
𝐅⃗𝐆
may be unknowns, this is not a requirement, and in fact
may lead to false expectations.
 Free Body Diagram (FBD)
Representing the horizontal and vertical COMPONENTS of any oblique (slanted) forces may be helpful.

𝐅⃗𝐍 𝐅⃗𝐍
𝐅⃗𝐀 𝐅⃗𝐀
𝐅⃗𝐀𝐲

𝐅⃗𝐅 𝐅⃗𝐅 𝐅⃗𝐀𝐱

𝐅⃗𝐆 𝐅⃗𝐆
 Free Body Diagram (FBD)
To avoid confusion, choose to represent EITHER the oblique forces OR their components – NOT BOTH.

𝐅⃗𝐍 𝐅⃗𝐍
𝐅⃗𝐀 Vectors with the same
𝐅⃗𝐀𝐲 direction should be
slightly offset for clarity

𝐅⃗𝐅 𝐅⃗𝐅 𝐅⃗𝐀𝐱

Sometimes vectors with
the same direction are
𝐅⃗𝐆 𝐅⃗𝐆 shown using different
colours.
Example 2 Draw a free
body diagram
A person is pushing on a wall representing the
with a force of 500 N forces on the
perpendicular to the wall. person.

The force of friction between

the person’s feet and the floor
is 200 N
 A FBD is a simplified representation of
the forces acting on a body.
Identify the forces acting The person is pushing on a
wall with a force
ON the person perpendicular to the wall.
a) in the horizontal direction

According to N3L (action-

In this situation, the
person’s feet would move
(“slip”) away from the wall
reaction) the wall exerts
and EQUAL AND OPPOSITE
force on the person
(otherwise the wall would
The force of friction is deform).
always OPPOSITE to the
direction of motion
A FBD is a simplified representation of
the forces acting on a body.
Identify the forces acting
ON the person
b) in the vertical direction

The force of gravity

ALWAYS acts on a body

The normal force (force

of the floor resisting
deformation) acts on
the person
 Free Body Diagram (FBD)
This is a picture representing the forces ON the person
𝐅⃗𝐍

𝐅⃗𝐆 𝐅⃗𝐀
𝐅⃗𝐀 𝐅⃗𝐅
Rearrange the vectors
so that all the tails are
on the same point and
all the arrowheads
point outwards 𝐅⃗𝐆
𝐅⃗𝐅 𝐅⃗𝐍
 Free Body Diagram (FBD)

𝐅⃗𝐍
𝐅⃗𝐆 𝐅⃗𝐀
𝐅⃗𝐀 𝐅⃗𝐅

Don’t forget to include

a small disc to
represent the body
𝐅⃗𝐆 itself

𝐅⃗𝐅 𝐅⃗𝐍
Example 3 Draw a free
body diagram
A person is pushing on a wall representing the
with a force of 500 N applied at forces on the
an angle to the wall. person.

The force of friction between

the person’s feet and the floor
is 200 N

In what way would the forces be

different in this situation compared
to the previous one?
 Identify the forces acting ON the person
a) in the horizontal direction
The person is pushing on a
wall with a force applied at
an angle to the wall.
According to N3L (action-
reaction) the wall exerts
and EQUAL AND OPPOSITE
force on the person

In this situation, the person’s

feet are constrained to move The force of friction is
along the floor always OPPOSITE to the
direction of motion
Identify the forces acting ON the person
b) in the vertical direction

No apparent change in the

vertical dimension

The force of gravity

ALWAYS acts on a body

The normal force (force

of the floor resisting
deformation) acts on
the person
 Free Body Diagram (FBD)

𝐅⃗𝐍
𝐅⃗𝐀

𝐅⃗𝐆
𝐅⃗𝐀 𝐅⃗𝐅
Rearrange the vectors
so that all the tails are
on the same point and
all the arrowheads
point outwards 𝐅⃗𝐆
𝐅⃗𝐅 𝐅⃗𝐍
 Free Body Diagram (FBD)

𝐅⃗𝐀
𝐅⃗𝐍
𝐅⃗𝐆
𝐅⃗𝐅

𝐅⃗𝐀

𝐅⃗𝐆
𝐅⃗𝐅 𝐅⃗𝐍
 Free Body Diagram (FBD)
Representing the horizontal and vertical COMPONENTS of any oblique (slanted) forces may be helpful.
To avoid confusion, choose to represent EITHER the oblique forces OR their components – NOT BOTH.

𝐅⃗𝐍 𝐅⃗𝐍 𝐅⃗𝐍

𝐅⃗𝐅 𝐅⃗𝐀𝐱 𝐅⃗𝐅 𝐅⃗𝐅

𝐅⃗𝐀𝐱

𝐅⃗𝐀 𝐅⃗𝐀 𝐅⃗𝐀𝐲

𝐅⃗𝐀𝐲
𝐅⃗𝐆 𝐅⃗𝐆 𝐅⃗𝐆
Oblique forces shown This is NOT a proper FBD Oblique forces not shown
Components not shown. It is just a representation of your work Components shown.