Worksheet 1: Free Body Diagrams

Forces are pushes or pulls, measured in Newtons. Using the class handout Download handout, create qualitative (force directions and labels, without numbers) for various situations. Use a whiteboard, blank piece of paper, or your notebook to sketch free body diagrams. 

Types of forces: Normal, gravity, friction, traction, lift, thrust, buoyant, tension.

For force labels: Force type, on object, by agent. Ex: Force gravity, on person, by earth.

Process:

1. Sketch the system and its surroundings.
2. Enclose the system within a system boundary.
3. Shrink the system to a point at the center of coordinate axes with one axis parallel to the direction of motion.
4. Represent all relevant forces (across the system boundary) with a labeled vector.
5. Indicate which forces (if any) are equal in magnitude to other forces.