Experiment 2: Resultant and Equilibrant Forces

Bianca Andrea Acuña, Pamela Tristen Agbayani, Gian Searle Alkuino,

Justin Victor Ang, Franz Abegail Bejasa

Department of Medical Technology,

Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Santo Tomas
España, Manila Philippines

Abstract proportional to the force’s magnitude.

The experiment focused on the
mechanics of balancing forces and how these
principles physically manifest in practical and
observable conditions. To proceed, a force
table was mounted in order to perform the
concept of resultant and equilibrant forces. A
ring was then attached with three strings with
weight hangers tied at the end that are placed
in different areas. The values obtained,
especially the specific magnitude and
direction, were treated with a series of
calculation in the interest of getting their
corresponding resultant and equilibrant
forces. As for the result, a value of 0.98 N for
magnitude and 60° for the direction of both
resultant and equilibrant was obtained for F​1
and F2​ ​, and F​2 and F3​ while a magnitude of
0.98 N and 180 ° direction for F1​ and F​3 was
​ theorem and concepts of Trigonometry are
observed.
1. Introduction
In physics, a force is described as the
push or pull interaction between two objects
that will result in the change of its velocity or
acceleration. It is also known as a vector
quantity which has both magnitude and
direction, measured in Newtons (N).
Typically, this is represented by an arrow in
the direction of the force along with a length
While different forces may act on an
object simultaneously, such forces may be
added to obtain its vector sum, also known as
the resultant force. With this, the resultant
force is brought into equilibrium by having an
equilibrant force which balances it out thus,
generating zero net force.
Because magnitude and direction play a
vital role in determining the value of a
resultant force, several methods may be
conducted to identify the values of both. An
example of this is the component method.
Using the component method, the x and y
component of each vector must first be
identified. After such, the Pythagorean
used to determine the size and direction of the
resultant respectively.
To further understand such concepts, the
students must conduct an experiment which
involves the calculation of the resultant and
equilibrant forces of three vectors through the
component method. By the end of the
experiment, students must be able to: identify
the resultant and equilibrant of any number
with the use of the force table, make use of the
component method to identify the resultant of
several forces, and to demonstrate the
relationship of resultant and equilibrant forces
in terms of attaining equilibrium.
2. Theory
A common example of a vector
quantity is the force where it must describe
both magnitude and direction. With this, it is
known that an object with a net force of zero
Newtons is at equilibrium. For forces to reach
a state of equilibrium, both the resultant force
(2)​ ​Fy​=Fsinθ
Where ​Fx refers to the x-component of the
forces and ​Fy refers to the y-component of the
forces. ​F ​represents the magnitude of the
forces while theta is the angle formed by the
given force. After solving for both, the x and y
components are then added algebraically.
(3) ​R​= √(F x) 2
+ (F y) 2

and equilibrant force must be determined. The

The magnitude of the resultant (​R​), is obtained
resultant force pertains to the single force that
by using the Pythagorean Theorem.
would cause the same effect on an object as
the effect brought about by two or more forces Fx
(4) ​θ​=tan​-1 ​( Fy
)
combined. Equilibrant force, on the other
hand, refers to the single force that is of the
same magnitude with the resultant force but is The direction of the resultant force is obtained
opposite in terms of direction. And so, adding by isolating​θ​.
both equilibrant and resultant force will result
to a net force of zero, thus, equilibrium.
3. Methodology
In finding the resultant between two or The following materials were used in
more forces, vector addition must be applied the experiment: Force table, three weights
as the sum of two forces is equal to the (100g each), weight hangers in the form of
resultant itself. Various methods such as the crochet thread, one ring, protractor, and ruler.
triangle and component methods are used to
determine such. Other than this, alternative
graphical methods may also be used to
determine the resultant like the Parallelogram
and Polygon methods for example.

For the experiment, the following equations

were used to determine the resultant force
using the component method:

​ Fcosθ
(1) ​Fx=
Figure 1: 100g weights and ring.
Figure 2: Force Table.
Figure 3: Suspended weights on different
angles.
For the experiment, the force table was
placed on the horizontal surface to make sure
that every weight is equally levelled. Once
this was done, the ring was used to represent
the object which forces would act upon. The
forces were applied by tying one end of the
string to the ring and the other end to one
100g weight. This procedure was done thrice
where the ring was placed in the middle of the
force table to establish its equilibrium. The
three forces were placed at different angles, all
of which were 120° apart from one another,
and were labelled as F1, F2, and F3
accordingly. The resultant between F1 and F2
was designated as Fa, between F2 and F3 as Figure 4: Labelled force table with forces F1,
Fb, and between F1 and F3 as Fc. The F2, and F3.
magnitudes for Fa, Fb and Fc were then
computed using the component method. After
doing so, each resultant was then extended
into the opposite direction, which created
three new vectors namely: FA, FB, and FC.
Once this was done, the resultant of these
three vectors were determined by using the
component method to discover if the forces
were in equilibrium.
 𝜭 60​o

4. Results and Discussion

Table 1.3 Between Forces F1 and F3
Table 1. Resultant Forces
F​1 F​3
Table 1.1 Between Forces F1 and F2
Magnitude 0.98N 0.98N
F​1 F​2
Direction 60​o​ QIII 60​o​ QII
Magnitude 0.98 N 0.98 N
x -0.49 -0.49
Direction 60​o​ QIII 0​o
y -0.85 N 0.85
x -0.49 N 0.98 N
R 0.98
y -0.85 N 0N
𝜭 180​o
R 0.98 N

𝜭 60​o

Table 1.2 Between Forces F2 and F3

F​2 F​3

Magnitude 0.98 N 0.98 N

Direction 0​o 60​o​ QII

x 0.98 N -0.49 N

y 0N 0.85 N

R 0.98N
 Table 2. Resultant Forces

FORCES EQUILIBRANT RESULTANT RESULTANT

(Experimental) (Experimental) (Computed)

Magnitude Direction Magnitude Direction Magnitude Direction Magnitude Direction

F​1 0.98 N 60​0 ​QIII 0.98 N 60​o ​QII 0.98 N 60​o ​QIV 0.98 N 60​o ​QIV

F​2 0.98 N 0​0

F​2 0.98 N 0​0 0.98 N 60​0 ​QIII 0.98 N 60​o ​QI 0.98 N 60​o ​QI

F​3 0.98 N 60​o ​QII

F​1 0.98 N 60​0 ​QIII 0.98 N 0​0 0.98 N 180​o 0.98 N 180​o

F​3 0.98 N 60​o ​QII

created by the weight (100g ) added to each

Table 1 shows the x and y
component of each vector quantity which
were solved using its respective magnitude
and direction by the component method.
These x and y components indicate the
magnitude of the vector along the horizontal
and vertical axes respectively. The total sum
of both the x and y components found
between two vectors( F1 and F2, F1 and F3,
F2 and F3) were used to find the resultant
force using the Pythagorean theorem.
Meanwhile, the angle is determined using
trigonometric functions.
Based on the results of table one, all
three vectors observed were of the same
magnitude of 0.98 N. This was caused by
the weight tied to each string since each
string has a force pull of 0.98N towards their
respective directions. The forces pull each
other in the desired direction to keep every
string in place which was due to the tension
string.
Similar to table 1, table 2 presents
the magnitude and direction of the vectors as
well as the experimental value of the
equilibrant. The equilibrant, which is the
vector counteracting the 2 forces, was
attained through observation of the force
table. On the other hand, opposite to the
equilibrant is the resultant vector which can
also be seen experimentally through the
force table. The resultant vector was
computed using the component method as
well to ensure that there are no discrepancies
between the experimental and computational
values.
With this, the equilibrant is the exact
opposite of the resultant. As shown in the
table above, the equilibrant and resultant has
both the same magnitude but act on opposite
directions. In other words, the equilibrant is
the negative of the resultant vector. Thus,
the results show that the forces are in
equilibrium since each vector is
counteracted by the resultant of the other
two remaining vectors.
5. Conclusion
In conclusion, this experiment
performed the vector addition through the
comparison of the gathered experimental
results for several forces with the use of a
force table. A force table is a simple tool
that demonstrates the vector nature of forces
and is based on the principle of equilibrium.
An object is said to be in equilibrium when
there is no net force acting on it; thus,
having no acceleration.
As concerns to the result of the
experiment, the equilibrant and resultant
forces between F1, F2, and F3 all have an
equal magnitude 0.98 N but differ in
direction. This confirms the definition that
the resultant is a single force that can replace
the effect of a number of forces while the
equilibrant is a force that is exactly opposite
to a resultant in terms of direction. With this
in mind, it is concluded that the three forces
in the experiment are in a state of
equilibrium, having no force whatsoever as
the net force is equivalent to zero Newtons.
6. Applications
1. Differentiate the resultant and
equilibrant of two forces.
To differentiate the resultant from
the equilibrant is that the resultant of two
forces also known as vector sum is
determined by adding all the vectors, it has
magnitude and direction. On the other hand,
the equilibrant of two forces has the same
magnitude but with the opposite direction of
the resultant, thus it is the negative vector of
the resultant.
2. If three concurrent forces are in
equilibrium, what is the relation between
any one of the three forces and the
resultant of the other two forces?
When the three concurrent forces are
in equilibrium, any one of the three forces
will be the equilibrant force which is
negative or opposite of the resultant of the
two other forces. Therefore, the net force is
equal to zero, making the object stationary.
3. If two forces with the same magnitude
were exactly in opposite directions, what
is the magnitude and directions of their
resultant? What is the magnitude and
direction of their equilibrant?
When two forces have the same
magnitude and in opposite directions, both
the resultant and equilibrant forces will
become 0 and will have no direction because
they both cancel each other’s forces out.
4. Use the component method to find the
magnitude and direction of the resultant
of the following forces:
A=2000.0 N at 0°
B=1500.0 N at 60°
C=1000.0 N at 150°
D=3800.0 N at 225°
X Y
A 2000.0 N cos(0°)= 2000.0 N 2000.0 N sin(0°)= 0 N
B 1500.0 N cos(60°)= 750.0 N 1500.0 N sin(60°)= 1299.0 N
 C 1000.0 N cos(150°)= -866.0 N 1000.0 N sin(150°)= 500.0 N September 6, 2018, from
http://mdsciences.blogspot.com/2016/05/res
D 3800.0 N cos(225°)= -2687.0 N 3800.0 N sin(225°)= -2687.0 ultant-and-equilibrant-forces.html
N

∑x= -803.0 N ∑y= -888.0 N [2] Barwad, R. (2014, August 16).

Difference between Resultant and
Equilibrants. Retrieved September 6, 2018,
Resultant (R) = √Σx2 + Σy 2
from
= √(− 803.0N ) 2
+ (− 888.0N )2 https://www.polytechnichub.com/difference-
= 1197.2 N between-resultant-and-equilibrants/
-1
Direction = θ = tan​
[3] Equilibrium and Statics. (n.d.). Retrieved
-1 | −888.0N |
θ = tan​ | −803.0N | September 6, 2018, from
= 47.9° S of W/ Quadrant III https://www.physicsclassroom.com/class/ve
Resultant force= 1197.2 N 47.9° S of W/ ctors/Lesson-3/Equilibrium-and-Statics
Quadrant III
[4] Resultants. (n.d.). Retrieved September
5. A body weighing 100.0 N is suspended 6, 2018, from
by a rope. A second rope attached to the https://www.physicsclassroom.com/class/ve
body is drawn aside horizontally until the ctors/Lesson-1/Resultants
suspended rope makes an angle of 30°
with vertical. Find the tension in each [5] Resultant Force: Definition & Formula.
rope. (n.d.). Retrieved September 6, 2018, from
https://study.com/academy/lesson/resultant-f
∑fy= T​1y +
​ T​2y +
​ Wt​ =
​ 0 orce-definition-formula.html
= T​1 sin(120°)+T​
​ 2 sin(0°)+(-100.0
​ N) = 0
= 0.866T​1 + ​ 0 + (-100.0 N)= 0 [6] Serway, R. A., & Jewett, J. W. (2014).
100..0N
= T​1 =
​
0.866 University Physics. Pasig City, Philippines:
= T​1​= 115.5 N Cengage Learning Asia

∑fx= T​1x + ​ T​2x =

​ 0
= T​1 ​cos(120°) + T​2 ​cos(0°) = 0
= -0.5 T​1 ​+ (T​2​) = 0
= T​2 =​ -0.5(115.5N)
= T​2 = ​ 57.8 N

7. References
[1] Andrew, A. O. (1970, January 01).
Resultant and equilibrant forces. Retrieved