the counterclockwise angle that R makes with the positive x-axis), which in our case is 180 ° + θ, i.e. To express the direction of R, we need to calculate the direction angle (i.e. Let's start with the simple case in which an object is subject to two forces that act in the same direction: ![]() Two forces acting in the same direction.To explain this clearly, we will now go through all the cases that can happen, from simple ones in which all the forces are parallel, to more complex ones in which the forces are not parallel, and show how to find the resultant force in each of them with the help of examples. These two cases are pretty simple, but what about an object subject to two or more forces? How do we perform the vector sum then? Notice that this is not a mere sum of the magnitudes of the forces, but the sum of the forces taken as vectors, which is more involved because vectors have both a magnitude and a direction that we need to consider when doing the sum.Īccording to the above equation, if an object is subject to no forces, then the resultant force is zero, and if an object is subject to only one force, then the resultant force is equal to that force. Indeed, according to Newton's Second Law, the force F that alone produces the acceleration a on an object of mass m is: If we know the mass m of an object and the acceleration a produced by the forces that act on it, we can find the resultant force using Newton's Second Law. This means that to determine the effect that several forces have on an object, we only need to determine the effect that a single force has. ![]() The reason why the resultant force is useful is that it allows us to think about several forces as though they were a single force. When an object is subject to several forces, the resultant force is the force that alone produces the same acceleration as all those forces.įor example, if 4 forces act on a block and cause it to accelerate 1 m/s 2 south, then the resultant force is the force that, if applied alone to the block, will also make it accelerate 1 m/s 2 south. ![]() In this article, you will learn what the resultant force (also known as net force) is, and how to find it when an object is subject to parallel forces as well as non-parallel forces with the help of examples. What is the Resultant Force and How to Find it (with Examples)
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