Question

A force F1 of magnitude 5.50 units acts on an object at the origin in a direction θ = 54.0° above the positive x-axis. (See the figure below.) A second force F2 of magnitude 5.00 units acts on the object in the direction of the positive y-axis. Find graphically the magnitude and direction of the resultant force F1 + F2.

Answer 1

Here we have :

F₁ = 5.50 units

F₂ = 5 units

And, The angle between both the forces will be : β = 90° - θ = 90° - 54.0° = 36°

.

According to the parallelogram law of vector addition :

The magnitude of the resultant force will be given as follow -

.

And, the angle made by the resultant vector with the F₁ will be given by :

.

Therefore, The direction of the resultant vector will be : 54^o + 17.11^o = 71.11^o (above the positive x-axis)

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