Question

You have two forces, 114.6 N and 70.7 N. What is their resultant (magnitude) if the first acts upward and the second acts downward? What is the direction of the resultant? What is their resultant (magnitude) if they both act downward? What is the direction of this resultant?

Answer 1

Hi there!

If they are in opposite direction:

- Let UP be the POSITIVE direction and DOWN be the NEGATIVE direction.

Thus:

∑F = 114.6 - 70.7 = 43.9 N upward

If they are in the SAME, downward direction:

∑F = -114.6 - 70.7 = -185.3

The magnitude is the absolute value, so:

|-185.3| = 185.3 N downward