Force and Free-Body Diagrams are essential tools in physics for visualizing forces acting on an object. A Free-Body Diagram specifically illustrates all external forces acting on a body, represented as vectors. It does not depict forces exerted by the object itself; instead, it focuses solely on the forces applied to the object. According to Newton's third law, while the object exerts a force on another body, that force is not included in the Free-Body Diagram of the original object.
PREREQUISITESStudents of physics, educators teaching mechanics, and engineers involved in force analysis will benefit from this discussion.
A free-body diagram is a graphical picture that shows the body and all the forces (in vector form) that act on that body. The net force (vector sum of all those forces) gives you the mass x acceleration of the body.catenn said:Hi, I have had a slight confusion on the Force and Free-Body Diagrams. I know that they are represented by arrows for the vectors in the direction of the force and that forces exerted on the object are shown. Are the forces exerted by the object also shown for the Force and Free-Body Diagrams? Or is there also a difference from one showing and the other not? Thanks!