Inclined plane diagrams: a block, ball or cart on a ramp
The Inclined Plane Generator draws a ramp at any angle from 5° to 60° with a block, ball or cart on its slope and the angle marked at its foot. Mark the slope’s length and the ramp’s height, hatch the slope to show it’s rough, and add the forces on the object: gravity straight down, the normal force out of the slope, and friction or an applied force along it.
Teachers use it for Newton’s laws, friction and energy questions. Every label can be written, a blank line for students, or left off, so the same ramp works as the question and as its key. Velocity and acceleration are drawn dashed, above the object, so they’re never taken for forces.
What you can set
- The object: a block, ball or cart, its label, its size, and how far up the ramp it sits
- The ramp’s angle, 5° to 60°, and its label, like θ or 30°
- A smooth slope or a rough, hatched one
- Gravity and the normal force, and friction and an applied force up or down the slope, each with its label
- Velocity and acceleration up or down the slope, drawn dashed
- Marks for the slope’s length and the ramp’s height
- Mirror, so the ramp rises to the left, and color for slides
Copying, printing and sharing
Copy the figure straight into a test, worksheet or slide, or download it as a PNG or SVG. Printing the page prints
just the figure. Share link copies the page’s address with your settings in it, so anyone who opens it sees this
exact figure, and presets save settings you use often in your browser. It’s free, with no sign-up.
Frequently asked questions
Which way does the normal force point on an incline?
Straight out of the slope, at a right angle to it, not straight up. On a ramp at angle θ it is tilted θ from the vertical, and when only gravity and the normal force act across the slope, it equals mg cos θ.
Which way does friction point on a ramp?
Along the slope, against the way the object slides or would slide. A block sliding down, or resting on the slope and held by friction, has friction up the slope; a block pushed up the slope has friction down it. Choose Up the ramp or Down the ramp.
Can it show gravity’s components along the slope?
No. Gravity is drawn as one arrow straight down, the way students first draw it, and resolving it into mg sin θ down the slope and mg cos θ into it is left for them.
Is the object drawn bigger for a bigger mass?
No. Every object starts the same size, so a 5 kg block isn’t drawn bigger than a 2 kg one. Its size is a setting of its own, from 50% to 200%, apart from its label.
Can the ramp rise to the left?
Yes. Turn on Mirror under Figure to flip the figure left to right. The labels stay readable.
Physics Figures Inclined Plane Generator