Imagine a box sliding down a rough slope. What will the free body diagram for the box look like?

In a free body diagram for a box on a rough slope, there will be three arrows. One will point out of the box up the slope (parallel to the slope), one will point directly downwards from the box, and the final one will point upwards out of the box perpendicular to the slope (diagram to be drawn on whiteboard).The downwards arrow is the weight of the box (W=Mg). This is the force which will cause the box to slide down the slope. The arrow parallel to the slope is friction due to the rough slope: friction is a force which opposes motion, and so points opposite to the direction the box slides down the slope. Finally, the arrow perpendicular to the slope is the normal reaction from the slope: there is a component of the box's weight that pushes perpendicular to the slope, so the slope "reacts" and pushes back so the box doesn't fall through the surface.

Answered by Eve T. Physics tutor

3426 Views

See similar Physics GCSE tutors

Related Physics GCSE answers

All answers ▸

A ball of mass 1kg is rolled down a hill of height 10m. At the bottom it collides with another ball of mass 5kg. What speed does the second ball move away with? You can assume the collision between the balls is elastic.


What is refraction?


explain the relationship between resistance and voltage in a filament lamp


The time taken for a wave to pass a point is 2.5 seconds. What is the frequency of the wave?


We're here to help

contact us iconContact usWhatsapp logoMessage us on Whatsapptelephone icon+44 (0) 203 773 6020
Facebook logoInstagram logoLinkedIn logo

© MyTutorWeb Ltd 2013–2025

Terms & Conditions|Privacy Policy
Cookie Preferences