Question

A force of 3 Newtons and a force of 5 Newtons act concurrently to produce a resultant of 8 Newtons. The angle between the forces must be:

a) 30 degrees
b) 45 degrees
c) 60 degrees
d) 90 degrees

Answer 1

To find the angle between two forces, we can use the cosine rule. The angle between the forces is approximately 75.5°.

Step-by-step explanation:

To find the angle between two forces, we can use the cosine rule. Let's assume that the angle between the forces is θ. According to the cosine rule:

c² = a² + b² - 2ab * cos(θ)

Substituting the given values, we have:

8² = 3² + 5² - 2 * 3 * 5 * cos(θ)

Solving for cos(θ), we get:

cos(θ) = (3² + 5² - 8²) / (2 * 3 * 5) = 0.25

taking the inverse cosine of 0.25, we find that θ ≈ 75.5°.

Therefore, the angle between the forces is approximately 75.5°, so none of the given options (a, b, c, d) are correct.