How Do You Draw a Free Body Diagram for a Box and Truck in Motion?

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SUMMARY

This discussion focuses on drawing free-body diagrams for a box and a truck in motion, specifically when the truck accelerates from a stop. For the box, the key forces include the weight acting downwards, the normal force acting upwards, the friction force acting to the right, and an unlabelled vector potentially representing acceleration to the left. For the truck, the forces consist of the reaction force to the tires' backward push to the right, the normal force from the ground upwards, the truck's weight downwards, the reaction force from the box upwards, the box's friction force to the left, and another unlabelled vector to the right. These diagrams illustrate the dynamics of the system as the truck accelerates.

PREREQUISITES
  • Understanding of Newton's laws of motion
  • Familiarity with free-body diagram conventions
  • Knowledge of frictional forces and their directionality
  • Basic principles of acceleration and force vectors
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plshelpme
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Homework Statement

A large box containing your new computer sits on the bed of your pickup truck. You are stopped at a red light. The light turns green and you stomp on the gas and the truck accelerates. To your horror, the box starts to slide toward the back of the truck. (Assume that the truck is accelerating to the right.)

part 1)
Draw clearly labeled free-body diagram for the box
given the following vectors:
1] weight of box
2] normal force
3] box's friction force on the truck
4] unlabelled vector

part2)
Draw clearly labeled free-body diagram for the truck.
(The bed of the truck is not frictionless.)
given the following vectors:
1] reaction force to tires' backward push
2] normal force from ground
3] weight of truck
4] reaction to the normal force on the box from the truck
5] the box's friction force on the truck
6] unlabelled vector

Homework Equations





The Attempt at a Solution



part a attempt is

weight downwards
normal force upwards
box's friction force on the truck to the right
unlabelled vector (not sure it used as a accelerating vector of the box) to the left

part b attempt is

1] reaction force to tires' backward push - to the right
2] normal force from ground - upwards
3] weight of truck - downwards
4] reaction to the normal force on the box from the truck - upwards
5] the box's friction force on the truck - to the left
6] unlabelled vector - to the right

i am not sure of the answers...
 
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plshelpme said:
part a attempt is

weight downwards
normal force upwards
box's friction force on the truck to the right
unlabelled vector (not sure it used as a accelerating vector of the box) to the left

part b attempt is

1] reaction force to tires' backward push - to the right
2] normal force from ground - upwards
3] weight of truck - downwards
4] reaction to the normal force on the box from the truck - upwards
5] the box's friction force on the truck - to the left
6] unlabelled vector - to the right

i am not sure of the answers...

In Part a, your Force vector on the box = m*a the acceleration in the frame of reference of the truck bed I think.

In b) I would make the normal force = truck + box
And what is the unlabeled vector to the right? Isn't that the reaction force on the ground already? The tires are pushing a force to the left aren't they if the truck is moving right?
 

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