Free Body Diagram Maker for Physics, Animated and Embeddable
- What this is
- A free, embeddable, animated free body diagram for physics education on any website.
- Who uses it
- High school and university physics teachers, physics bloggers, STEM curriculum developers, and engineering education writers.
- How to embed
- Copy one line of HTML. No signup. No watermark. Works in WordPress, Webflow, Ghost, Substack, plain HTML.
- File size
- ~25 KB per diagram.
- License
- Free forever. Editorial explainer text included; updated centrally over time.
- URL
- scrollchart.com/free-body-diagram-maker
Animated free body diagram
The animated free body diagram is in the build queue for Phase 8. It will show a configurable object with force vectors that animate into view one by one (weight, normal force, friction, applied force), labeled with standard physics notation.
Placeholder embed code (becomes live in Phase 8):
<div data-scrollchart="free-body-diagram"></div>
<script src="https://scrollchart.com/embed.js" async></script>This slug will be live at launch. Copy it now and it will start rendering once Phase 8 ships.
Browse available diagrams →What is a free body diagram?
A free body diagram (FBD) is a simplified representation of an object that shows all the forces acting on it. The object is drawn in isolation (hence "free body"), and each force is represented as a vector arrow pointing in the direction the force acts, originating from a central point on the object. Free body diagrams are a foundational tool in introductory physics and engineering mechanics.
The purpose of isolating the body is to make force analysis tractable. By drawing only the object and its forces, with no environment, the student or analyst can apply Newton's second law (F = ma) systematically without being distracted by the surrounding scene.
The five standard forces in introductory FBDs
Most introductory physics problems involve some combination of these five forces:
- Weight (W or Fg): gravitational force, always pointing straight down toward the center of the Earth. Magnitude: W = mg, where m is mass and g is gravitational acceleration (~9.8 m/s² near Earth's surface).
- Normal force (N or FN): the contact force a surface exerts on an object perpendicular to the surface, pointing away from it. It prevents the object from passing through the surface.
- Friction force (f or Ff): the contact force a surface exerts on an object parallel to the surface, opposing relative motion or the tendency of motion. Kinetic friction (Fk = muK * N) and static friction (Fs ≤ muS * N) are the two types.
- Applied force (Fa or F): an external push or pull from a person, rope, motor, or other agent. Drawn in the direction of application.
- Tension (T): the pulling force exerted by a rope, cable, or string along its length, away from the object.
Steps to draw a correct free body diagram
A systematic approach reduces errors:
- Identify the object to be analyzed and mentally separate it from everything else.
- Represent the object as a point or a simple box at the center of your diagram.
- List all forces acting on the object (not forces the object exerts on others).
- Draw each force as an arrow from the center of the object, pointing in the direction the force acts.
- Label each arrow with the force name and, where known, the magnitude.
- Choose a coordinate system (typically x horizontal, y vertical) and decompose angled forces into components.
Free body diagrams for equilibrium versus acceleration
When an object is in static equilibrium (not accelerating), all force vectors sum to zero: the arrows pointing left equal the arrows pointing right, and the arrows pointing up equal the arrows pointing down. The free body diagram shows balanced forces.
When an object is accelerating (net force is nonzero), the force arrows do not balance. Newton's second law (F_net = ma) relates the net force to the acceleration. The free body diagram captures the inputs; the algebra resolves the output acceleration or unknown force.
Free forever
The diagram and explainer text are served from scrollchart.com so the content can be updated over time to reflect new physics pedagogy or to link to relevant sources within the explainer. No subscription, no ads, no tracking pixels served to your readers.
Frequently asked
How do I draw a free body diagram?
A free body diagram isolates a single object and draws all the forces acting on it as arrows (vectors) originating from a central point. Steps: (1) identify the object, (2) list all forces acting on it (gravity, normal force, friction, applied forces, tension), (3) draw the object as a point or simple shape, (4) draw each force as an arrow pointing in the direction the force acts, labeled with the force name and magnitude. The Scrollchart free body diagram maker (launching in Phase 8) will animate these steps for web embedding.
What forces are typically shown in a free body diagram?
Common forces in introductory physics free body diagrams: weight (gravity, pointing straight down, labeled W or Fg), normal force (perpendicular to the surface, pointing away from it, labeled N or FN), friction force (parallel to the surface, opposing motion, labeled f or Ff), applied force (in the direction of the push or pull, labeled Fa or F), tension (along a rope or cable, away from the object, labeled T). In more advanced contexts: buoyancy, air resistance, magnetic force.
What is the difference between a free body diagram and a force diagram?
The terms are used interchangeably in most physics curricula. Strictly, a free body diagram shows only the forces on a single isolated object, with no surroundings drawn. Some textbooks use "force diagram" more loosely to include the environment. In practice, when a teacher asks for a free body diagram, they want the isolated-object-with-force-arrows format.
Can I embed a free body diagram in a physics blog or course page?
Scrollchart is building an animated free body diagram component for web embedding (launching in Phase 8). Until then, the standard physics diagram tools are PhET Interactive Simulations (University of Colorado, free, web-based) and oPhysics.com for pre-built interactive scenarios.
How do I show net force in a free body diagram?
Free body diagrams show individual forces, not the net force. After drawing all individual forces, the net force is calculated separately by vector addition: sum the x-components and y-components of all force vectors to find the resultant. If the object is in equilibrium, the net force is zero and the free body diagram shows balanced forces (equal arrows in opposing directions).
Can I make a free body diagram in another language?
Yes. The Scrollchart free body diagram maker, like the rest of the catalogue and the AI generator, supports every major language. Type your force vector labels, axis names, and headings in English, French, Spanish, German, Mandarin, Hindi, Arabic, Japanese, Portuguese, and more — the rendered SVG uses your language unchanged.
Browse available animated diagrams
Over 100 animated science, statistics, and data diagrams live now. Free to embed.
Browse the free catalog →More than physics diagrams — explore the catalogue
Free AI chart generator
Paste your data, a finding, or a URL. The generator picks the right chart type and produces an animated, embeddable diagram in seconds.
Open the generator →100+ animated diagrams
Hand-built across 17 subjects: science, finance, fitness, law, engineering, and more. Filter by topic, copy one line of HTML, done.
Browse the catalogue →Now available in every major language: prompt in English, French, Spanish, German, Mandarin, Hindi, Arabic, Japanese, Portuguese, and more — the diagram labels render in the language you ask for.