Engineering Science 1022A/B/Y Lecture Notes - Lecture 13: Resultant Force
Document Summary
A particle that is at rest or moving with a constant velocity is in equilibrium if the vector sum of all forces acting on the particle is 0. To maintain equilibrium, newton"s first law of motion must be satisfied requires the resultant force acting on a particle to be equal to zero. Establish the x and y axes in any suitable orientation. Label all the known force magnitudes and directions on the diagram. Show all unknown force magnitudes and/or directions as variables. Assume the sense of any forces with unknown magnitudes if it is not obvious. Components are positive if directed along a positive axis, negative if directed along a negative axis. If there are more than two unknowns and the problem involves a spring to use the appropriate equation relating the spring force to the deformation of the spring. Negative solution indicates that force is acting in opposite direction to which it is drawn on the fbd.