What Is a Free Body Diagram?

Free Body Diagrams (FBD) are useful aids for representing the relative
magnitude and direction of all forces acting upon an object in a given
situation. The first step in analysing and describing most physical
phenomena involves the careful drawing of a free body diagram. In a free-
body diagram, the size of the arrow denotes the magnitude of the force,
while the direction of the arrow denotes the direction in which the force
acts.

A free body diagram is defined as follows:

A free body diagram is a graphic, dematerialised, symbolic representation

of the body (structure, element or segment of an element) in which all
connecting “pieces” have been removed.

Features of a Free Body Diagram

A free body diagram is a diagram that is modified as the problem is

solved. Typically, a free body diagram consists of the following
components:

A simplified version of the body (most commonly a box)

A coordinate system

Forces are represented as arrows pointing in the direction they act on the
body

Moments showed as curved arrows pointing in the direction they act on

the body

The number of forces acting on a body depends on the specific problem

and the assumptions made. Commonly, air resistance and friction are
neglected.

Exclusions in a Free Body Diagram

Some of the things that a free body diagram excludes are as follows:

Bodies other than the free body diagram

Constraints

Internal forces

Velocity and acceleration vectors

What Is the Purpose of a Free Body Diagram?

Free body diagrams are tools that are used to visualise the force and
moments applied to a body and to calculate the resulting reactions in
many types of mechanics problems.

How to Make a Free Body Diagram?

In this section, we will explain the step-by-step procedure of drawing a

free body diagram:

1. Identify the Contact Forces

Identify the Contact Forces

To identify the forces acting on the body, draw an outline of the object
with dotted lines, as shown in the figure. Make sure to draw a dot when
something touches the object. When there is a dot, it indicates that there
is at least one contact force acting on the body. Draw the force vectors at
the contact points to represent how they push or pull on the object.

Contact points to represent how they push or pull on the object

2. After identifying the contact forces, draw a dot to represent the

object that we are interested in. Here, we are only interested in
determining the forces acting on our object.

3. Draw a coordinate system and label positive directions.

 4. Draw the contact forces on the dot with an arrow pointing away
from the dot. The arrow lengths should be relatively proportional to
each other. Label all forces.

5. Draw and label the long-range forces. This will usually be weight
unless there is an electric charge or magnetism involved.

6. If there is acceleration in the system, then draw and label the

acceleration vector.

Common Mistakes Made While Drawing a Free Body Diagram

Avoid drawing forces of the object acting on other objects

The direction of the different types of forces is denoted wrong

The direction of different forces:

Weight is always down

Friction is always parallel to the contact surface

The normal force is always perpendicular to the contact surface, and

tension only pulls

Free Body Diagram Examples

In this section, we have listed free diagrams considered under different

scenarios.

1. A bottle is resting on a tabletop. Draw the forces acting on the

bottle.

Forces acting on the bottle

2. An egg is free-falling from a nest in a tree, neglecting the air

resistance. What would the free body diagram look like?
An egg is free-falling from a nest

3. If a rightward force is applied to a book in order to move it across a

desk at a constant velocity, considering only the frictional forces and
neglecting air resistance, a free body diagram for this situation will
look like the following:

A free-body diagram where a rightward force is applied

4. A skydiver is descending at a constant velocity. Considering the air

resistance, the free body diagram for this situation will be like the
following:

A skydiver is descending at a constant velocity

Free Body Diagram Solved Problem

Example: Draw a free body diagram of three blocks placed one over the
other, as shown in the figure.

A free body diagram of three blocks placed one over the other

Solution:

The forces acting on the individual elements of the system are shown
below:

Forces acting on the individual elements of the system

Description of forces acting on each block:

The forces on block “C” are:

WC = mCg = its weight, acting downward

NB = normal reaction on “C” due to the upper surface of block B, acting

upward

The forces on block “B” are:

WB = mBg = its weight, acting downward

NB = normal reaction on “B” due to the lower surface of block C, acting

downward

NA= normal reaction on “B” due to the upper surface of block A, acting
upward

The forces on the block “A” are:

WA = mAg = its weight, acting downward

NA = normal reaction on “A” due to the lower surface of block B, acting

downward

NO = normal reaction on “A” due to the horizontal surface, acting upward

The FBD of the blocks as points with external forces are shown below.

FBD of the blocks as points with external forces

Free Body Diagram

13,879

Frequently Asked Questions on Free Body Diagram

Q1

What is the definition of a free body diagram?

A free-body diagram is a graphic, dematerialised, symbolic representation

of the body (structure, element or segment of an element) in which all
connecting “pieces” have been removed.

Q2

What does a free body diagram represent?

Free-body diagrams represent the relative magnitude and direction of all

forces acting upon an object in a given situation.

Q3

How to draw a free body diagram?

While drawing a free body diagram, we draw the object of interest by

drawing all the forces acting on it and resolving all force vectors into x–
and y-components. Separate free body diagrams should be drawn for each
object in the problem.

Q4

What is a free body diagram used for?

Free body diagrams are used to visualise the forces and moments applied
to a body and to calculate the resulting reactions in many types of
mechanics problems.

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