Question

Two parallel forces of (a) N and (b) N act on a body in the same direction from two points A and B at a distance of 0.4 m from each other. Find the magnitude and the point of application of the resultant of the two forces.

a) 140, (A + B)/2
b) 60, (A + B)/2
c) 140, A
d) 60, B

Answer 1

To find the magnitude and point of application of the resultant of two parallel forces, calculate the individual horizontal and vertical components of the forces. Then, use the Pythagorean theorem to find the magnitude of the resultant force. The point of application is the average of the points of application of the two forces.

Step-by-step explanation:

To find the magnitude and point of application of the resultant of two parallel forces, we first need to calculate the individual horizontal and vertical components of the forces. Since the forces are parallel and acting in the same direction, the magnitudes of their horizontal components will be equal. Therefore, the horizontal component of the resultant force will be twice the magnitude of the horizontal component of either force.

Next, we can use the Pythagorean theorem to calculate the magnitude of the resultant force. The magnitude of the resultant force is the square root of the sum of the squares of the horizontal and vertical components. The point of application of the resultant force is the average of the points of application of the two forces, which is (A + B)/2.

So, in this case, the magnitude of the resultant force is 140N and the point of application is (A + B)/2.