COPLANAR FORCES AND EQUILIBRIUM

A change in the state of motion of a body is caused by a FORCE. The unit of force is the
newton(N).

When a number of forces are acting at a point they are said to be CONCURRENT and when
they all lie in one plane, they are said to be COPLANAR. [If they were not coplanar the trig
would be very interesting!]

If forces act on a body and it does not move, the forces must balance. So if forces are acting on
a body and it remains at rest, the resultant force must be zero. We say that the system of
forces is in EQUILIBRIUM.
**This also occurs when a body is moving at a constant velocity i.e. acceleration is zero.**

A force is a vector so it must be drawn showing both magnitude and direction. The magnitude
is measured in Newtons (N). We cannot say that force P is of magnitude 7 N. We must say the
P has a magnitude of 7 N acting at 60o above the horizontal.

TYPES OF FORCE
We will consider 5 main types of force. For each problem, a diagram must be drawn which
shows each force clearly – both its magnitude and direction.
a) Weight A body that has a mass of m kg will exert a force of mg N where g is known
as the acceleration due to gravity and takes a value of 9.8/10 ms-2 [Denoted
by W on diagrams]. Weight always acts vertically downward.

b) Reaction When an object is in contact with a surface, the surface exerts a force
of reaction on the object that acts at right angles to the surface or normal
to the plane. [Denoted by R or N on diagrams] [Newton’s Third Law of
Motion - for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction]

c) Friction Friction is a force which opposes the motion of a body and acts parallel to
the surfaces in contact. It also depends on the nature of the surfaces in
contact (rough or smooth). [Denoted by F on diagrams]. Friction is
proportional to the reaction, F = R, where  is called the coefficient of
friction. Friction will not be larger than necessary to prevent the motion of
the body and can be assumed to have its maximum value (R) when it is on
the point of moving, in limiting equilibrium or motion occurs.

d) Tension When particles are connected by a light, inextensible string then tension
acts along the string. It acts away from the body to which it is connected or
with which it is in contact. [Denoted by T].
e) Applied An applied force is a force that is applied to an object by a person or
another object that causes the second object to accelerate or change
velocity or direction. The force can be a push, pull or drag. [Denoted by P
on diagrams]. Details will be given in the problem.

**Care is needed to ensure that the directions of the vectors involved are correct.

FORCE DIAGRAMS

** See worksheet on page 3**

Before answering any problem on forces, we must draw a suitable diagram showing all details
of the forces acting.

Examples
Draw a diagram for the following situation showing all the forces that are acting.
1. A box of mass 3 kg resting on a table.
2. A box of mass 6 kg resting on a rough table with a force of P N applied to the box
parallel to the table
3. An object of mass 8 kg on a rough table with a force of P N applied at an angle of 60o
to the vertical
4. An object of 10 kg resting on a rough inclined plane, inclined at 35o to the horizontal
5. An object of 3 kg resting on a rough inclined plane, inclined at 20o to the horizontal, with
an applied force of 7 N acting up the plane
6. A ladder of weight W N resting against a rough wall and standing on a smooth floor.
7. Particles of mass 4 kg and 2 kg connected by a light string which passes over a smooth
fixed pulley
8. A mass m1 lies on a smooth horizontal table and has one end of a light inextensible
string attached to it. The string passes over a smooth fixed pulley at the edge of the
table and has a mass m2 at its other end.
9. A mass m2 lies on a smooth horizontal table. It is connected by a string which passes
over a smooth fixed pulley at the edge of the table to a mass m1 which hangs vertically.
The mass m2 is also connected to a mass m3 by a string which passes over a smooth
fixed pulley at the opposite edge of the table.
10. A body of mass 6 kg is moving down an inclined plane, inclined at 30o to the horizontal.
It is connected to a second body of mass 2 kg by a string which passes over a smooth
fixed pulley at the top of the plane.
 FORCES DIAGRAMS WORKSHEET

In each of the following situations, draw and label the forces using standard force symbols as
learned in class.
RESULTANT OF FORCES

When two or more forces act at a point we may replace them all with a single RESULTANT
force.

RESULTANT OF TWO FORCES

The resultant of two forces is very straightforward to find. We can draw a force diagram
showing the forces acting at a point and then complete a parallelogram. The main diagonal of
the parallelogram represents the resultant. We then use the diagram with some trig (sine and
cosine rules) to find the magnitude and direction of the resultant.

Examples (1)

Find the magnitude and direction of the resultant in each of the following:
(a) (b) (c)

(d) (e) (f)

When information about the vectors is given a sketch needs to be drawn.

Examples (2)
Find the magnitude and direction of the resultant in each of the following:
a) a has a magnitude of 8 units and acts on a bearing of 030o and b has a magnitude of 17
units and acts on a bearing of 120o
b) m has a magnitude of 5 units and acts on a bearing of 125o and n has a magnitude of 7
units and acts on a bearing of 080o
 c) a has a magnitude of 7 units and acts on a bearing of 040o and b has a magnitude of 15
units and acts on a bearing of 130o
d) m has a magnitude of 8 units and acts on a bearing of 135o and n has a magnitude of 11
units and acts on a bearing of 070o

Examples (3)
a) P and Q are two forces of magnitude 5N and 8N respectively acting at an angle of 40o
to each other. Find the magnitude of the resultant and the angle it makes with the
larger force.
b) A and B are two forces of magnitude 15N and 12N respectively acting at an angle of
120o to each other. Find the magnitude of the resultant and the angle it makes with
the smaller force.
c) Two forces of 6N and 8N act at right angles to each other. Find the magnitude of the
resultant and the direction it makes with the smaller force.
Page 69 Exercise 4A Q 2, 3, 4, 6, 17

If vectors are given in terms of i and j, the direction of the vector may be found by adding the
corresponding i and j components of each vector. Typically, a vector in the direction of the
positive x-coordinate axis is denoted by i and a vector in the direction of the positive y-
coordinate axis is denoted by j. Its magnitude can then be found using Pythagoras’ theorem.

Examples
Find the magnitude and direction of the vectors m and n in each of the following:
a) m = 7i + 8j n = 4i – 5j
b) m = –7i + j n = 9i – 6j
c) m = 13i – 8j n = –17i + 11j
d) m = 2i + 3j n = 4i – j
e) m = –4i + j n = 6i – 2j
f) m = 5i – j n = –8i + 6j

RESULTANT OF THREE OR MORE FORCES

We saw in the previous section that two forces may be combined into a single force called the
resultant. However, if we have three or more forces acting at a point, it is easier to find the
resultant by resolving them into two components each and then using the components of
each force. We sum the components of the given forces in the two directions used and then
find the resultant of these component sums. These components must be in mutually
perpendicular directions, i.e. they may be horizontal and vertical or parallel to an inclined
plane and perpendicular to it.
RESOLVING FORCES

Examples
a) A force of 8N acts in the direction 060o.
b) A force of 12N acts in the direction 310o.
c) A force P of 15N acts in the direction 165o. Express P in the form ai + bj.
d) A body of mass 10 kg rests on a plane inclined at 30o to the horizontal. Find the
component of the weight
(i) parallel to the plane
(ii) perpendicular to the plane
e) Given the diagram below resolve the given forces horizontally and vertically. Hence,
determine the angle made with the x-axis.

f) A force of 4N acts vertically down, a force of 8√2 N acts in the direction 045o and a force
of 4N acts in the direction 300o. Find the magnitude and direction of the resultant.

g) Three forces of magnitude 4 N, 5 N and M N act in the directions 000o, 090o and
(270o - If the forces are in equilibrium find M and  by resolving into horizontal and
vertical components.

Page 73 Exercise 4B Q 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Page 77 Exercise 4C Q 1-5, 9, 11c, 13-20
Page 78 Exercise 4D Q 1-4 [Optional 5-8]
EQUILIBRIUM

If the forces acting on a particle are in equilibrium then motion does not take place and the
resultant of those forces is zero. To solve an equilibrium problem with three forces we may
use Lami’s Theorem (see below). If three or more forces are in equilibrium then we may use
components. [The components in mutually perpendicular directions must sum to zero, i.e. the
sum of horizontal components is zero and the sum of vertical components is zero or the sum
of components parallel to the plane is zero and the sum of components perpendicular to the
plane is zero.]

LAMI’S THEOREM
When three forces only are in equilibrium we may use Lami’s Theorem to solve.

Y X



 

𝑋 𝑌 𝑍
Lami’s theorem states that = =
𝑠𝑖𝑛𝛼 𝑠𝑖𝑛𝛽 𝑠𝑖𝑛𝛾

Example

Three forces of magnitude 4 N, 5 N and M N act in the directions 000o, 090o and (270o - If
the forces are in equilibrium find M and  by using Lami’s Theorem.

Page 85 Exercise 5A Q 4, 6, 8, 10
Page 91 Exercise 5B Q 1-15, 17-18, 20
Page 110 Exercise 6A Q 1, 3-4
Page 118 Exercise 6B Q 2, 3