Drawing Free Body Diagrams a. An egg is free-falling from a nest in a tree.

Neglect air
resistance.
Use the following website to help draw the free body diagrams for the
following scenarios. When you open the link, scroll down to a box, labelled b. A rightward force is applied to a book in order to move it
“Free-Body Diagrams,” and click start. across a desk with a rightward acceleration. Consider
http://www.physicsclassroom.com/Physics-Interactives/Newtons- frictional forces. Neglect air resistance.
Laws/Free-Body-Diagrams/Free-Body-Diagram-Interactive
OR google “physics classroom free body diagram interactive” 2. Free-body diagrams for four situations are shown below. For each
situation, determine the net force acting upon the object.
1. A rightward force is applied to a crate to push it across the floor at a Remember, vectors pointing in opposite directions are subtracted
constant speed. Ignore air resistance. and vectors pointing in the same direction are added.
2. A rightward force is applied to a dresser to accelerate it to the right
across the bedroom floor. Ignore air resistance.
3. A rightward-moving car is skidding to a stop across a level roadway with
locked wheels. Ignore air resistance.
4. A football is moving upward and rightward towards the peak of its
trajectory. Ignore air resistance.
5. The cabin of a small freight elevator is secured to a motor by a cable and
is moving upward with a constant speed. There is no contact between the
cabin and the elevator shaft. Ignore air resistance.
6. A downward-moving skydiver is falling with a constant speed.
7. A hockey puck glides to the right across the ice at a constant speed.
Ignore air resistance and friction.
8. A sledder has reached the bottom of a hill and is coasting to the right
while slowing down along the loosely-packed snow. Ignore air resistance.
9. A football, originally kicked at a 40-degree angle to the horizontal, is at
the peak of its trajectory. Ignore air resistance.
10. A downward-moving skydiver who has just opened the parachute is
3. Free-body diagrams for four situations are shown below. The net
slowing down. (Diagram the forces on the skydiver/parachute combination.)
force is known for each situation. However, the magnitudes of a few
11. The cabin of a small freight elevator is secured to a motor by a cable and
of the individual forces are not known. Analyze each situation
is moving upward while slowing down. There is no contact between the
individually and determine the magnitude of the unknown forces.
cabin and the elevator shaft. Ignore air resistance.
12. A softball player does a head-first dive and is sliding to the right across
the infield dirt. Ignore air resistance.

Force Practice Problems

1. For each of the situations a and b, draw a free-body diagram.