General Physics I (PHYS 101) Free-Body Diagrams, Friction, and Inclines Practice Problems
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
General Physics I (PHYS 101) | Practice Problems

Overview
A practice set focused on drawing clean free-body diagrams and solving friction and incline problems step-by-step.

Key topics
•free-body diagram checklist
•static vs kinetic friction
•inclined plane components
•pulleys and tension setups
•Newtons 2nd law in x and y

Suggested study tasks
•draw the FBD before writing any equations
•resolve forces into components on 4 incline problems
•solve 3 friction-threshold problems
•set up one two-block tension system
•check answers with units and limiting-case reasoning

Common pitfalls
•using mu without a normal force
•mixing up static and kinetic friction
•choosing axes that make components harder
•forgetting friction direction
•adding forces that are not on the object