Key terms

Term Meaning
Force A push or pull on an
object, usually has
symbol FFF. Has SI
units of Newtons
(\text NNstart text, N,
end text) or
\dfrac{\text {kg m}}
{\text s^2}s2kg m start
fraction, start text, k, g,
space, m, end text,
divided by, start text, s,
end text, squared, end
fraction.
Contact force A force that requires
contact between
objects. Examples are
tension, normal force,
and friction.
Long range force A force that does not
need contact between
objects to exist. One
example is the
gravitational force
(weight).
Free body diagram A diagram showing the
forces acting on the
 object. The object is
represented by a dot
with forces are drawn
as arrows pointing
away from the dot.
Sometimes called force
diagrams.
Types of forces
Force (symbol) Force type Description
Weight (F_gFg F, start Long range Force from gravity
subscript, g, end acting on an object
subscript or WWW) with mass. Sometimes
called force of gravity.
Pulls towards the Earth
(down) always.
Tension (F_TFT F, start Contact Force of something
subscript, T, end pulling on an object.
subscript or TTT) Can be caused by a
string, rope, chain,
cord, cable, or
wire.Pulls along the
direction of the rope
on the object.
Normal force (F_NFN F, Contact Force between two
start subscript, N, end objects when they
subscript or NNN) touch. Pushes
perpendicularly to the
object’s surface.
Friction (F_fFf F, start Contact Force resisting sliding
subscript, f, end between surfaces.
subscript or fff) Pushes parallel to the
contact surface and in
the opposite direction
of sliding.
How to make a free body diagram
1. Start by identifying the contact forces. Let's look for what the object is
touching by outlining the object (see Figure 1 below). Draw a dot
where something touches the outline; where there is a dot, there
must be at least one contact force. Draw the force vectors at the
contact points to represent how they push or pull on the object
(including correct direction).
2. After we have identified the contact forces, draw a dot to represent
the object we are interested in (see Figure 2 below). We only want to
find the forces acting on our object and not forces the object exerts on
other objects.
3. Draw a coordinate system and label the positive directions. If the
object is on an incline, then align the axes with the incline.
4. Draw the contact forces on the dot with an arrow pointing away from
the dot. Make sure the arrow lengths are relatively proportional to
each other. Label all forces.
5. Draw and label our long range forces. This will usually be weight
unless there is electric charge or magnetism involved.
6. Draw and label your acceleration vector off to the side of the dot --
not touching the dot. If there is no acceleration, then write a=0a=0a,
equals, 0.