Creative Commons License Copyright © Michael Richmond. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License.

Free-body diagrams

Bob is pushing box of mass 80 kg. This time, Jane isn't there to help him, so it's a good thing that this box is smaller. Bob pushes the box with a force of 350 N to the right. The sticky floor exerts a frictional force of 300 N to the left, but the box does slide across the floor.

What is the acceleration of the box?

  1. Draw a diagram showing only the box. Draw an arrow for each force acting ON the box, showing roughly the direction, size and location of each force. Make a table like this, listing all the forces and indicating the x and y components of each one. What is the total force in each direction?
       force        x            y
      --------------------------------
               |          |         
               |          |         
               |          |         
               |          |         
               |          |         
               |          |         
               |          |         
               |          |         
      --------------------------------
       total   |          |
      --------------------------------
      

  2. Use your table to answer the question, "What is the acceleration of the box?" Provide the acceleration in the X-direction, and the acceleration in the Y-direction.

Creative Commons License Copyright © Michael Richmond. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License.