harujina said:Homework Statement
A 20 kg object is being acted on by a 90 N [E60N] force, a 40 Nforce, and a 40 N [E27S] force.
Find the net force acting on the object and its acceleration.
Homework Equations
ƩF = ma
The Attempt at a Solution
I understand that I have to add vector components here.
So as a result, I got 80.64 N [E] and 19.78 N [N].
I got a force pulling North and a force pushing East. But now I don't know what to do with these forces...?
Yes, the direction of the acceleration is always in the direction of the net force.harujina said:Oh, so is it right for me to use Pythagorean theorem here to find the resultant vector?
and then that would be the net force which can be used to determine acceleration, correct?
*I worked it out and got 83.03 N [E3.5N]
Just wondering if it's necessary to include direction [E3.5N]
I know acceleration is a vector quantity but what does this implicate? Simply the direction of acceleration for my final answer?
PhanthomJay said:Yes, the direction of the acceleration is always in the direction of the net force.
Net force is the overall force acting on an object, taking into account both magnitude and direction. It is calculated by adding all individual forces acting on an object using vector addition.
Vector addition involves breaking down individual forces into their x and y components, adding these components separately, and then combining the results to find the net force in both magnitude and direction.
Balanced forces have equal magnitudes and opposite directions, resulting in a net force of zero and no movement. Unbalanced forces have unequal magnitudes and/or the same direction, resulting in a net force and causing movement.
Yes, net force can be negative. This indicates that the overall force is acting in the opposite direction of the positive direction, as defined by the coordinate system being used.
Finding net force is essential in understanding the motion of objects in various scenarios, such as in sports, engineering, and transportation. It is also used in calculating the stability of structures and predicting the behavior of natural phenomena like weather patterns.