2.

9 ANALYSING
FORCES IN
EQUILIBRIUM
Chapter 2 Forces and Motion

Forces in
equilibrium
The forces acting on an object
are in equilibrium when the
resultant force acting on the
object is equal to zero.
An object at rest is in
equilibrium.

Forces in
equilibrium

The skydiver is falling at

constant velocity.
The force of gravity is
balanced by the drag of the
air there is once again no
unbalanced force.
An object in motion with
constant velocity is in
equilibrium.

In this section, we shall

study more about the
equilibrium
of
forces.
An object at rest on
an inclined plane
where three forces
are in equilibrium.
The resultant force
on the object is
zero.

Resultant Force

Figure shows three forces F1, F2 and F3 are pushing a

wooden block in the same direction.
F4 is the resultant force of the combined forces of F1, F2
and F3

Resultant Force

Figure shows three forces F1 and F2 are pushing a

wooden block in the different direction.
F4 is the resultant force of the combined forces of F1
and F2.

Resultant Force
A single force that will produce the

same effect as the two or more

combined forces that it replaces.

To find the Resultant Force

(i) Two parallel forces
Forces acting in the same direction

Add the magnitude of the two

forces.
The resultant force is in the same
direction as the two forces.

Forces acting in opposite direction

Subtract the magnitude of the

small force by the larger one.(to
find the difference in magnitude
between the two forces.)
The resultant force is in the
direction of the larger force.

To find the Resultant Force

(ii) Two non-parallel forces
acting at a point)

(Forces at an angle to each other

Simple arithmetic cannot be applied

to find the resultant force of two nonparallel forces.
Instead, we can determine the
resultant force by drawing scaled
diagrams using the two method
below.
Method I The triangle Method
(Tail-to-Tip Method)
Method II The Parallelogram Rule

Method I
The Triangle Method (Tail-toTip
Method)
1. First, choose a suitable scale fro two forces.
For example 1 cm : 50N

2. Then, follow the steps,

Method I
The Triangle Method (Tail-toTip Method)

Method I
The Triangle Method (Tail-toTip Method)

Method I
The Triangle Method (Tail-toTip Method)

Method II
The Parallelogram Rule (Parallelogram of
Forces)
1. First, choose a suitable scale fro two forces.
For example 1 cm : 50N

2. Then, follow the steps,

Method II
The Parallelogram Rule (Parallelogram of
Forces)

Method II
The Parallelogram Rule (Parallelogram of
Forces)

Method II
The Parallelogram Rule (Parallelogram of
Forces)
Note that the tails of both
forces F1 and F2, and the
tail of the resultant force,
FR are all at the same
point,0 and FR is in
between F1 and F2.

An ocean liner is towed into harbor by two tugs,

A and B, exerting forces of 12 kN and 10kN
respectively and the tow-ropes making an angle
of 68 Find the resultant force acting on the liner.

Answer: 18.4 kN , 38

To find the Resultant Force

(iii) Two Perpendicular forces

This is a special situation
for two non-parallel
forces acting on an object
at a right angle to each
other.
Figure shows the two
forces together with the
resultant force using
parallelogram rule.

The resultant force is obtained

using Pythagoras theorem
Resultant force,

Samy and Heng pull a crate with force of

70 N and 90 N respectively.
Find the resultant
force on the crate due
to these two forces

Answer
114 N 37.9 from the
original 90 N force

Resolution of Forces
Since two forces can combine to give a

single resultant force, therefore by

reversing the process,
A single force can also be resolved or
broken up into two components.
This reverse process is known as the
resolution of forces.
Usually, a force is resolved into 2
perpendicular components.

Resolution of Forces

Figure shows a single force, F.

Applying the parallelogram rule, the force F is resolved
into a pair of perpendicular components:
The vertical force, FY, and the horizontal force, FX

For

For
The magnitudes of the vertical
force, FY, and the horizontal
force, Fx can be determine by,

Find the horizontal and vertical components

for each of the following forces.

Answer (a) Fx =40 N to the right, Fy = 69.3N upwards

(b) Fx = 103.9 to the left, Fy = 60 N downwards

A BOY IS PULLING A TOY CAR WITH A

FORCE OF 6 N AS SHOWN IN FIGURE.
Find the horizontal
component of the force.
If the toy car is moving
with constant velocity.
What is the friction
against the toy car?

Answer:5.2 N

SANTHIRAN PULLS A 5 KG CRATE ON THE

FLOOR WITH A FORCE OF 35 N. THE
FRICTION AGAINST THE BOX IS 8N.
What is the
acceleration of the
crate?

Answer 4.7 ms-2

A gardener pushes a 250 kg concrete roller with a force of

200 N directed from the handle. The handle is at an angle
of 33 to the horizontal.

Answer:
(a) Horizontal com.168 N to the right
vertical comp 109Ndownwards
(b) 2609 N
(c) 2391N
(d) pushes

(a) Find the horizontal and

vertical components of the force.
(b) What is the weight of the
concrete roller?
(c) If the gardener pulls the
handle with the same force in a
reverse direction, what is the
downward force on the ground
then?
(d) In which direction, pushing
or pulling, would the roller be
more effective in levelling the

Eric and Darren are pulling a trolley on which their sister,

Tina is sitting. Both Eric and Darren pull the rope with a
force of 50 N, which makes an angle of 30 with the
direction of motion.

The total mass of Tina and the trolley is 30

kg and the friction between the trolley and
the floor is 40 N.
What is
(a) the total of forces towards the left?
(b) the acceleration of Tina and the trolley?

Answer: a) 46.6 N
b) 1.6 ms-2

Find the resultant force of the

two forces as shown in figure.
Answer: resultant force 6.93N