Free Body Diagram of a Car
Introduction
A free body diagram (FBD) is a diagram that shows all of the forces acting on an object. It is used to analyze the motion of the object. In this case, we will be analyzing the motion of a car.
Assumptions
We will make the following assumptions about the car:
* The car is moving at a constant speed.
* The car is not accelerating or decelerating.
* The car is not turning.
Forces Acting on the Car
The following forces are acting on the car:
* Weight (W): The weight of the car is the force of gravity pulling the car down. It acts at the center of mass of the car.
* Normal force (N): The normal force is the force exerted by the road on the car. It acts perpendicular to the road surface.
* Friction force (F): The friction force is the force that opposes the motion of the car. It acts parallel to the road surface.
* Drag force (D): The drag force is the force that opposes the motion of the car through the air. It acts parallel to the velocity of the car.
Free Body Diagram
The free body diagram of the car is shown below.
+——–+
| |
| |
| |
| |
+——–+
W↓ F→
N↑ D→
Analysis
The car is in equilibrium, which means that the sum of the forces acting on the car is zero. This means that the weight of the car is equal to the normal force, and the friction force is equal to the drag force.
We can use the free body diagram to calculate the friction force and the drag force.
The friction force is given by:
F = μN
where:
* F is the friction force
* μ is the coefficient of friction
* N is the normal force
The drag force is given by:
D = 0.5ρv^2A
where:
* D is the drag force
* ρ is the density of the air
* v is the velocity of the car
* A is the cross-sectional area of the car
Conclusion
The free body diagram of a car can be used to analyze the motion of the car. In this case, we found that the car is in equilibrium, which means that the weight of the car is equal to the normal force, and the friction force is equal to the drag force.
