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h1. Free Body Diagram

{excerpt}A graphical representation used to analyse the forces exerted on objects by other objects.{excerpt} Below we showare the steps that you need to follow to draw the free-body diagram of a box that you push along a smooth surface. 

Follow the steps of the procedure in the order indicated.

*Step 1*. Draw a sketch of the situation described in the problem. 

*Step 2*. Circle anthe object (objects) of interest in the sketch. This is called the [system]. (_In this example is the system contains only one object: the box._) 

*Step 3*. If the object in the system is small compared to other objects in the situation being described or if all of its points move in the same way (no rotation) you can think modelas the object as a [point particle]. Place at the side of the sketchDraw a "particle" dot to represent the systemobject. 

*Step 4*. LookIdentify forthe objects outside the system (external objects) that interact with the system. Decide what objects are importantrelevant and what objects are not. (In this example are the surface, the Earth and You "pushing").

*Step 5*. Draw arrows representing forcethe arrowsforces thatoriginated representby the external interactions that affect the behavior of the system object. Draw the *tails* of these force arrows *beginning* on the particle dot. DrawThe the lengths of the arrows toshould represent the relative magnitudes of the forces. 

*Step 6*. *Label the forces in the diagram*. Identify the external object that causes each force and also the object on which the force is exerted. A good habit is to *use clear labels* indicating the object outside the system that is exerting the force *on* the object inside the system. (In this example, F{~}You on Box{~}, means the force that You exert on the Box).

|!FBD.png!|

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