Question

Use the parallelogram of forces method to find the magnitude and direction of the resultant of a force of 250 N acting at an angle of 135° and a force of 400 N acting at an angle of −120°.

Answer 1

From Figure: 

(i) ab is drawn at an angle of 135° and 250 units in length

(ii) ac is drawn at an angle of −120° and 400 units in length

(iii) bd and cd are drawn to complete the parallelogram

(iv) ad is drawn. By measurement, ad is 413 units long at an angle of −156°. That is, the resultant force is 413 N at an angle of −156