Question

A piling for a high-rise building is pushed by two bulldozers at exactly the same time. One bulldozer exerts a force of 1600 pounds in a westerly direction. The other bulldozer pushes the piling with a force of 1350 pounds in a northerly direction. What is the magnitude of the resulting force upon the piling, to the nearest tenth?

Group of answer choices
54.3 lbs
2950.0 lbs
2093.4 lbs
250 lbs

Answer 1

The forces result in a right triangle. To obtain the resultant force, one can simply use the Pythagorean theorem. 1250 lbf and 2650 lbf both act as the legs of the triangle. Obtaining the hypotenuse via the theorem would yield the resultant force. This is done below:

c^2 = a^2 + b^2

c^2 = (1250)^2 + (2650)^2

c = 2930.017 lbf

Therefore, the magnitude of the resultant force is approximately equal to 2930 lbf.