Free Body Diagram
Key Stage 4
Meaning
A free body diagram is a type of diagram which all the forces affecting an object using arrows to represent the force vectors.
About Free Body Diagram
- Free body diagrams show the different forces acting on an object.
- The forces are represented by arrows that indication the magnitude of the force with by the length of the arrow and the direction of the force by the direction of the arrow.
- The object is usually drawn in a simplistic way as its shape is not often important to the forces that are acting on the object.
- Free body diagrams include a label which either names the force or states its magnitude.
Examples
| A submarine travelling to the left. | A plane flying to the right. | A car driving to the right. |
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