A cumulative frequency distribution is another type of frequency distribution. Instead of reporting how many data values fall in some classes, it reports how many data values are contained in either that class or any class to its left. Technically, it means the sum of frequencies of the class and all the classes below it in a frequency distribution. A cumulative frequency is calculated by adding the frequency of each class lower than the corresponding class interval or category. In general, a...

Solving problems that involve forces is easy using free-body diagrams. A free-body diagram is a sketch showing all the external forces that are acting on an object or system. The object or system is represented by a single isolated point (or free body). Only those forces acting on it that originate outside of the object or system—the external forces—are shown. The forces are represented by vectors extending outward from the free body. Imagine a person sitting on a chair. Here, the...

According to Newton's law of gravitation, the gravitational force on a body is proportional to its mass. According to Newton's second law of motion, the acceleration produced by an external force is inversely proportional to the force. Hence, the acceleration of an object under an external force of gravitation is independent of its mass.
The acceleration of an object close to the Earth, because of the Earth's gravitational pull, is called the acceleration due to gravity. It is...

An object falling without any air resistance under the influence of gravitational force is said to be in free-fall. For free-falling bodies, the acceleration due to gravity is constant, irrespective of their mass. Free-fall is experienced not only by objects falling downward, but also by all objects whose motion is influenced by gravitational force alone. The dynamics of free-fall motion can be calculated using kinematic equations of motion, since free-fall acceleration is constant.
The...

All objects, neglecting air resistance, fall with the same acceleration towards the Earth's center due to the force exerted by the Earth's gravity. This experimentally determined fact is unexpected because we are so accustomed to the effects of air resistance and friction that we expect light objects to fall slower than heavier ones. People believed that a heavier object had a greater acceleration when falling until Galileo Galilei (1564–1642) proved otherwise. We now know this is...

In mechanics, understanding the motion of objects is essential, and one tool that helps solve this problem is the free-body diagram. It is a simple but powerful graphical representation that succinctly represents all the forces acting on an object. A free-body diagram can represent a stationary or moving object, and is used in mechanics to explain the cause of an object's motion.
A free-body diagram transforms a complex problem into a simple representation, making it easy to understand the...