Question

Draw a free body diagram to show how a diver gains angular momentum when leaving the diving board.

Short answer

The free body diagram can be drawn by mentioning all the forces that acts on the driving board.

Step-by-step solution

Definition of the angular momentum

The mass, rotation, and speed of an object, as well as the radius of the object, determine its angular momentum.

Describe which are the forces applied on the diving board

Consider a diving board of length L and a person standing at the edge for diving. The force by this person will be acting downwards and have a magnitude of weight of person, W. At the other end of the board, there is a bolt which exerts a force F₁ directed downwards. At the middle of these forces, there is a force F₂ which acts upward and gives support to the diving board.

Draw the free body diagram

The free body diagram of diver leaving the diving board can be drawn as follows:

Therefore, the diver attains angular momentum by the applied torque.