How to make Free Body diagrams

Creating accurate free body diagrams (FBD) is one of the most important skills to develop when
first learning physics. Most errors on problems occur because of an inaccurate FBD.
The general idea when first exploring dynamics is to determine the net force on a particular object
for the system in question. Once you have the net force you know the acceleration of the object (which
might be zero). At this point you will be modeling the object as a particle, thus all force vectors should
emanate from the point representing the object. Only when you get into rotational dynamics (part C) should
you concern yourself with the actual location of the force on the object itself.

First some pointers.

1) Write all of your force vectors as pulls. That is, have the tail of the arrow on the object.
2) Do not include kinematical vectors (like velocity or acceleration) within your diagram. You
might mistake it for a force vector.
3) Make your arrows long enough so that you can see them and resolve them clearly.
4) Label your vectors with variables, not numbers, as much as is possible. It will keep the
meaning of your diagram clear.
5) Once you feel comfortable drawing FBDs, you can draw them right on any representation of
the problem you are given and can resolve the vectors directly.
6) As you get more adept at creating FBDs you can begin to draw all your FBDs on one
diagram. Here, to make sure you feel comfortable with them, we will create separate diagrams
for each body as necessary.

An example.
We will assume that all problems are situated on the surface of the Earth, that all ropes are

massless (unless stated otherwise) and all pulleys are frictionless (this changes in part C of the course).

Now test yourself.

On the following page are some standard physics scenarios. Draw the FBD as requested. The
following page will include the solutions, it is best if you do not check your work until you are completely
done. If you have any question on any of the diagrams, contact your tutor.