College Board AP® Your notes

Physics 1: Algebra-Based
Forces & Free-Body Diagrams
Contents
Free Body Diagrams
Forces as Interactions
Net Force
Translational Equilibrium

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 Free Body Diagrams
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Free-body diagrams
Properties of free-body diagrams
Free-body diagrams can be used to:
identify which forces act in which plane
determine the resultant force
Forces are vector quantities that describe the interactions between objects or systems
The free-body diagram of an object or system uses arrows to show each of the forces
exerted on the object by the environment
The length of the arrow represents the magnitude of the vector
The direction of the arrow represents the direction of the vector
The length of the arrows must be proportional to their magnitudes
Each force arrow is labelled with either:
a description of the type of force acting and the objects interacting with clear cause
and effect, e.g. the gravitational pull of the Earth on the ball
the name of the force, e.g. Weight

an appropriate symbol, e.g. F

g

Examples of forces exerted on objects

Arrows represent the magnitude and direction of a vector

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 A system is treated as though all of its mass is located at the center of mass
The forces exerted on an object or system are represented as vectors originating Your notes
from their center of mass

Free-body diagram of a suspended object

A free-body diagram of a suspended object shows the forces of tension and weight

Free-body diagram of object moving on rough surface

A free-body diagram of an object moving on a rough surface includes the frictional force
acting in the opposite direction to the applied force

Using a coordinate system

A coordinate system simplifies the translation from a free-body diagram to an algebraic
representation
One plane of the coordinate system is parallel to the direction of acceleration
A coordinate system consists of:
two axes perpendicular to each other
a positive direction that is opposite to the negative direction

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A coordinate system applied to an object moving on a rough
surface Your notes

A coordinate system helps translate a force diagram into an algebraic representation

It is common for the x and y axes to form part of the coordinate system
Using a coordinate system is a useful way to measure the angles of forces
Angles can be measured from either axis
This is explained in the revision note Combining vectors

A coordinate system applied to an object with a force at an

angle

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 Your notes

The angle of resultant vector A is measured from the vector Ax parallel to the x-axis.

Inclined Planes
In a free-body diagram of an object on an inclined plane, it is useful to set one axis
parallel to the surface of the incline

An inclined plane, or a slope, is a flat surface tilted at an angle, θ

The angles of each of the vectors can then be measured from the inclined plane and the
magnitude resolved
Instead of thinking of the component of the forces as horizontal and vertical, it is
easier to think of them as parallel or perpendicular to the slope

The weight F of the object acts vertically downwards and the normal (or reaction)
g
force, F always acts vertically upwards from the object on the slope
n

The normal (or reaction) force, F always acts upwards perpendicular to the slope
n

Remember the equation for weight

F g = mg

The weight force, F , is a vector and can be split into the following components:
g

F g cos(θ ) perpendicular to the slope

F g sin(θ ) parallel to the slope

If there is no friction, the force F sin(θ ) causes the object to move down the slope
n

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 If the object is not moving perpendicular to the slope, the normal force will be
F = F cos(θ )
n g Your notes
Forces on inclined planes

The weight vector of an object on an inclined plane can be split into its components
parallel and perpendicular to the slope

Worked Example
Draw free-body diagrams for the following scenarios:
(A) A box being pulled up a slope by a mass on a pulley (resolving the weight into
parallel and perpendicular directions)
(B) A man fishing in a stationary boat
(C) A car accelerating along a road
Answer:
Part (A)

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 Your notes

In problems such as this, it is best to resolve the forces parallel and perpendicular
to the slope
Part (B)

As the boat is not moving in the vertical plane, the length of both arrows must be
the same, showing forces of equal magnitude
Part (C)

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 Your notes

As the car is accelerating, the size of the thrust must be larger than the size of the
friction force
As in part (c), the upwards and downwards forces must be of equal magnitude

Examiner Tips and Tricks

Make sure you:
consider all forces involved in a situation
draw forces as vectors
draw force vectors to the correct size and to scale

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 Forces as Interactions
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Forces as interactions
A force exerted on an object or system is always due to the interaction of that object
with another object or system
A force is a push or pull
Forces can affect an object's:
speed
direction
shape
size

Effects of forces on different objects

A thrust force can cause a car to speed up, a gravitational force can cause a comet to
change direction, compression forces can cause a spring to change shape

The effects of forces on an object often depend on the type of force acting
The push force (thrust) of an engine can cause a car to speed up, whilst the force
exerted by the brakes (friction) can cause it to slow down
The gravitational pull of the Sun on a comet causes the comet to change direction
When two opposing forces push on each end of a spring, the spring changes shape
(it compresses)
Forces can be described as contact or non-contact

Examiner Tips and Tricks

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 There are three types of non-contact force:
Electrostatic force between two objects with a charge Your notes
Magnetic force between objects with magnetic poles
Gravitational force between objects with mass
These are covered in more detail later in the course.

Contact forces
Contact forces describe the interaction of an object or system touching another object
or system
They are macroscopic effects of interatomic electric forces
A macroscopic effect is an effect observable by the naked eye, this means it is an
effect that can be seen

Interatomic electric forces

Electric or electrostatic forces occur between charged particles
Like charges repel one another, and opposite charges attract one another
When a negatively charged particle gets close to a positively charged particle the
positively charged particle exerts a pull force on the negatively charged particle
(attraction)
When a negatively charged particle gets close to another negatively charged
particle, the particles experience a push force from one another (repulsion)

Electrostatic forces acting on charged particles

The repulsive forces between the electrons in the book and the electrons in the table
create the normal force keeping the book on the table

Atoms are composed of positively charged nuclei and negatively charged electrons
When objects come into contact with each other, their atoms at the surface interact
through electric forces
These electric forces can be repulsive or attractive
When two atoms are close, their electrons will repel each other causing a strong
electrostatic repulsive force
At slightly larger distances, attractive forces between atoms arising from temporary
or permanent dipoles in atoms can also exist

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Types of contact force
Examples of contact forces include: Your notes
Normal (reaction) force
Tension
Kinetic and static friction
Thrust and upthrust
Thrust
Thrust is a force produced by an engine that speeds up the motion of an object
The engine of a car exerts a thrust force and increases its speed
Upthrust
When an object is fully or partially submerged in a fluid, the fluid exerts an upward-
acting push force on the object
A boat floats on a lake due to the upthrust exerted by the water on the boat
A ball held underwater will shoot upwards when released due to the upthrust exerted
by the water pushing it back to the surface

Upthrust acting on a boat

The water pushes up on the boat, this is the force of upthrust

Normal forces
The normal force is the perpendicular component of the force exerted on an object by
the surface with which it is in contact
The normal force is always perpendicular to the surface
Normal forces are directed away from the surface
Normal forces arise from repulsive forces created by the repulsion of the electrons in
atoms

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 The electrons in a book at rest on the surface of a table repel the electrons in the
table keeping the book on the table from not falling through it
Your notes
Repulsive forces between electrons

The repulsive forces between the electrons in the book and the electrons in the table
create the normal force keeping the book on the table

When an object rests on a horizontal surface, the surface exerts a push force (normal
force) vertically upwards on the object
The electrons in a football resting on a grass surface repel the electrons in the grass
surface keeping the football from not falling through it

Normal force acting on a football

The push force exerted on an object by a surface is called the reaction force

When an object is traveling on a horizontal or inclined surface, the surface exerts a push
force (normal force) perpendicular to the angle of the surface on the object
The normal force is equal to the vertical weight component of the object when it is in
contact with the surface i.e. not above or below the surface

Normal force on an inclined plane

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 Your notes

The normal force is perpendicular to the inclined plane

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 Net Force
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Net force
The net force on a system is the vector sum of all forces exerted on the system
This net force determines
whether the object or system will experience a change in its direction of motion
whether the object or system will experience a change in the speed of its motion
The net force is sometimes called the resultant force
An object or system cannot exert a net force on itself
Forces can combine to produce
balanced forces
unbalanced forces
When the configuration of the forces acting on a system is balanced then the system is
in translational equilibrium and the net force exerted on the system is zero
When the configuration of the forces acting on a system is unbalanced then the net
force exerted on the system is not equal to zero
For example, imagine two people playing a game of tug-of-war, working against
each other on opposite sides of the rope
If person A pulls with 80 N to the left and person B pulls with 100 N to the right, when
the vectors of these forces are added together they do not cancel each other out
completely
Since person B pulled with more force than person A the system will be unbalanced
and the rope will experience a resultant force of 20 N to the right

Net force not equal to zero

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 Your notes

A tug-of-war is an example of when forces can become unbalanced

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 Translational Equilibrium
Your notes

Translational equilibrium
Translational equilibrium is defined as
A configuration of forces such that the net force exerted on a system is zero

Stationary object
We know that if there is no net force acting on an object then there is no change in the
object's motion
Therefore a stationary object remains stationary
Vectors can be added together using a vector sum
The force vectors acting on a picture modeled as a hanging object are:
Tension is the macroscopic net result of forces that segments of the string exert on
each other in response to an external force

The weight exerted on the object by the gravitational field strength, g

Translational equilibrium of a stationary hanging object

A stationary hanging object is kept in translational equilibrium by tension in the strings and
the weight of the picture

When an object is stationary, the force vectors acting on the object are arranged using
the tip-to-tail method so that the vector sum is equal to zero

Force diagram of a stationary hanging object

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 Your notes

When a system is in translational equilibrium the force triangle creates a net force of zero.

Moving objects
If there is no net force acting on an object, then there is no change in the object's
motion
Therefore, a moving object remains moving at a constant velocity in the same
direction
This means the force vectors acting on the object are also arranged using the tip-to-
tail method so they combine to equal zero
The force vectors acting on the object are:

The weight exerted on the object by the acceleration due to gravity, g

The friction exerted on the object due to the interaction between the object and the
surface of the slope
The normal force is the perpendicular component of the force exerted on an object
by the surface with which it is in contact; it is directed away from the surface.

Translational equilibrium of a moving object at a constant

velocity

An object moving at a constant speed on an inclined plane will also be in translational

equilibrium.

When an object is moving at a constant speed, the force vectors acting on the object
are arranged using the tip-to-tail method so that the vector sum is equal to zero

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Force diagram of a moving object at a constant velocity
Your notes

When a system is in translational equilibrium the force triangle creates a net force of zero.

Derived equation
A configuration of forces such that the net force exerted on a system is zero
⎯
∑ Fi = 0
i

Derivation:
Step 1: Identify the fundamental principle
Newton's second law is given by:
→
F net = m →
a
Where:
→
F net = net force exerted on the system, in N

m = mass of the system, in kg

→
a = acceleration of the system, in m/s2
Step 2: Apply the specific conditions
When an object is in transitional equilibrium, it is either at rest or moving with a constant
velocity
→
As there is no change in velocity, acceleration is zero, a = 0

The equation for net force becomes:

→
F net = 0
To maintain transitional equilibrium, the sum of the forces exerted on the system must
equal zero:
→ → → → →
F net = F 1 + F 2 + F 3 + . . . + F n = 0

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 ⎯
∑ Fi = 0
i
Your notes

Worked Example
An object is acted on by three forces one of magnitude 5 N acting downwards, one of
magnitude 4 N acting to the right and a third P N acting at an angle to the vertical as
shown in the diagram.

Identify the diagram that shows the object is in translational equilibrium.

Answer:
Step 1: Identify properties of a force diagram that show an object in translational
equilibrium
An object in translational equilibrium will have a force triangle that shows the force
vectors arranged tip to tail
Step 2: Identify the correct answer option
When following the force vectors in a counterclockwise direction from the top
point in the force triangle:
Each arrow is pointing in the counterclockwise direction
Hence this is answer option D

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