Free Body Diagram (FBD)

Step 3: Use a Coordinate System

● Using a coordinate system will help
● The FBD method is used to identify in telling which forces are pointing
all the types of forces acting on an to the positive direction or pointing
object including the direction of the to the negative direction
forces ● It will also help in incorporating
● Objects are represented as a angles in the direction of the forces
simplified version of the body, like if they are not parallel to the axes.
a dot or a point
● Forces are represented with
arrows pointing to the direction of
the force
● A coordinate system is used (to set
positive and negative directions)

Step 4: Set-up Equations of the Next

Force (x and y)

● If the object is at rest or moving

with constant velocity, then ∑F = 0
● If the object is accelerating, then
Step 1: Representation of Rigid Body ∑F = ma
● The first step in drawing a free
body diagram is to represent a rigid
body as a point particle (a dot)

Examples:

1. A book is at rest on a tabletop.

Step 2: Representation of Forces
● Forces acting on the object are
represented with arrows. The
arrow representing a force points
to the direction of the force.
 2. A car is coasting to the right and
slowing down. Neglect air
resistance.
3. A block rests on the table, as
shown. A light rope is attached to it
and runs over a pulley. The other
end of the rope is attached to a
second block. The two blocks are
said to be coupled. Block m2
exerts a force due to its weight,
which causes the system (two
blocks and a string) to accelerate.
Work and Energy
Common forms of Energy
- Mechanical Energy
- Chemical Energy
- Radiant Energy
- Electrical Energy
- Thermal Energy
(Energy can transform from one form to
another, but the total amount of energy in
the universe does not change.)
Energy
● Energy is a quantitative property of
a physical system. It is transferred
to another system to do work, thus,
a system's energy is the amount of
work the system can do.
● Energy is a derived, scalar quantity
● SI Unit: joule, J (kg m^2/s^2)
● Symbol: E (general), depends on
the form
Work
● Work is the amount of energy
transferred by a force.
● Work is a derived, scalar quantity
● SI Unit: joule, J (Nm - Newton
meter)
● Symbol: W
Work relates force and energy
Mathematically, it is the dot product of
force and displacement.
Special Case:

Work is POSITIVE if the x-component of
force has the same direction with ∆x
Work is NEGATIVE if the x-component of
force has the opposite direction with ∆x
Work Done By A Non-constant Force
● Work done by non-constant forces
can be determined by constructing
a force vs. position graph. The
area under the f vs x curve is
equivalent to the work done by the
force.
Work Done By Multiple Forces
● The total work done by different
forces acting on an object at
different instances is the sum of all
the work done by the individual
forces.
● If the forces are acting on an object
at the same instance, then
● And the work done by all the forces
is
Example:
- A sled loaded with firewood was
pulled by a tractor to a distance of
20 m. The tractor was exerting a
constant force of 5000 N at an
angle of 36.9° with the horizontal.
The sled with the firewood was
weighing 14000 N in total and a
friction of 3500 N was existing
between the sled and the ground.
Find the individual work done by
each forces and the total work
done by all the forces.
Power
● Is the rate of doing work
● SI Unit: Watts, W(J/s)
● English System: Horsepower, hp
● 1 hp = 735.7 W
● Symbol: P
● Named after James Watt
Example
- A boy is pulling a sled on a
frictionless icy surface with a force
of 25 N at an angle of 30°. He is
able to pull it to a horizontal
distance of 2 m for 4 s. How much
power is used by the boy?
Mechanical Energy
● Is the energy of macroscopic
particles due to their velocity or
position.
Types of Mechanical Energy
Kinetic Energy
● The energy associated with moving
objects.
● SI Unit: Joules, J (same as energy
and work)
● Symbol: KE
● In motion
● W=m·a·d
● Kinetic energy depends on the
velocity of the object squared.
● Kinetic energy must always be
either zero or a positive value.
● Kinetic energy is not a vector. So
Potential Energy
● Position (Height)
● Potential energy is the energy
stored in an object when its relative
position is changed due to work.
● The term potential is used because
the stored energy has the
"potential" to do work when
released.
● Symbol: PE, U (subscript refers to
type)
Types of potential energy:
- Gravitational potential energy, GPE
or UG
- Elastic potential energy, EPE or Us
Gravitational Potential Energy
● Gravitational potential energy is the
energy stored in an object when its
height from a reference point is
changed due to work.
● SI Unit: Joules, J (same as energy
and work)
● Symbol: GPE, UG
GPE = mgh
h = height (y position)
GPE is the energy due to the object's
relative position (h) pl
Work done by Gravity
Gravitational Potential Energy
Reference
● The gravitational potential energy
reference is a location where the
GPE is equal to zero.