Chapter 3

Triangle and
Polygon of Force
 Learning Objective

The objectives of this unit are to:

1. Understanding the effects of a force
2. Understanding that force is vector quantity and how to
find resultant.
 Forces in Action

Include
Newton’s the effects
Laws of Work

And in the
absence of Friction And
acceleration transfer
produce

Equilibrium Energy
 Forces and Reaction

• Force, in physics, any action or influence that

accelerates, or changes the velocity of an object

• Formula, F = ma m = mass, a = acceleration

• Unit = kgms-2 or Newton

• Reaction of force –
A reaction force is basically a force that acts in the opposite
direction to an action force. (Daya tindak balas adalah suatu daya
yang bertindak dalam arah yang bertentangan dengan daya
yang bertindak.)
 Examples 1:

1. Consider the interaction between a baseball bat and a baseball.

The baseball forces the bat to the right(an action);
the bat forces the ball to the left (the reaction).
{Kayu pemukul memaksa bola lisut ke kanan (daya yang bertindak);
Bola memaksa kayu pemukul ke kiri (daya tindak balas).}

Examples 2:
2. When one fires a bullet from a gun, they feel being pushed backward.
The action force in this case is the gun pushing out the bullet and the
reaction is the bullet pushing back on the gun and its holder.
(Apabila seseorang menembak peluru dari senapang, mereka merasa ditolak ke belakang.
Daya yang bertindak dalam kes ini adalah pistol menolak peluru dan daya tindak balas
adalah peluru yang menolak kembali senapang dan pemegang.)
 Representation of Force by a Vector

• Scalar quantity – only have magnitude,

Example : length, mass, density, volume, etc

• Vector quantity – has both magnitude and direction, can be +ve

or -ve
Example : force, velocity, acceleration, etc

• Vectors are usually denoted as F for force, v for velocity, etc

• Magnitude of vector = F for force, v for velocity, etc,

always +ve
B

a
A
 Equilibrium Force
Keseimbangan Daya

• When a body or a system is in equilibrium, there is

no net tendency to change (tiada kecenderungan perubahan
berat)

• When no force is acting to make a body move in a line, the body

is in translational equilibrium

• When no force is acting to make the body turn, the body is in

rotational equilibrium

•A body in equilibrium at rest is said to be in static equilibrium

Newton's Third Law of Motion

For every action, there is an equal

and opposite reaction
 Normal Force

• Normal force, R always directed perpendicular to surface

R R R

R is opposite reaction force upward

 Weight

• Weight, W always directed down

W W W
 Friction Force

• Smooth surface – assumed no friction

• Friction force, Ff always directed opposite to direction of object

movement

• Ff = μR μ = coefficient of friction R = normal force

Ff Ff

Ff pull
 Free-body Diagram

R
F
Fy
q
Ff
Fx

W
 Equilibrium Force

• When more than one force acts on a particle / object, the

resultant force is determined by a vector summation of
all the forces

FR = ∑ F = ma

∑ Fx = max
∑ Fy = may
∑ Fz = maz
 Equilibrium Force

R = mg R = normal force

Wooden block is not moving, resultant force = 0

Wooden block is in equilibrium
 Equilibrium Force

R = mg
F1 = F2

wooden block is moving with uniform velocity,

resultant force = 0
wooden block is in equilibrium
 Equilibrium Force

R = mg cos q
F = mg sin q

wooden block is not moving.

resultant force = 0
wooden block is in equilibrium
Resolution of Force
into Component
 Resolution of Force into Component

Example 01:
A hockey puck having a mass of 0.30 kg slides on the horizon,
frictionless surface of an ice rink. Two hockey sticks strike the
puck simultaneously, exerting the forces on the puck , shown
below. The force F1 has a magnitude of 5.0 N, and the force F2 has
a magnitude of 8.0 N. Determine both the magnitude and the
direction of the puck’s acceleration.
 Resolution of Force
into Component

Example 01:
Step 1:Find component Fx and Fy
 x 1x
F  F cos( 20
)  F2x cos 60

 (5.0 N )(0.940)  (8.0 N )(0.500)  8.7 N

 y 1y 2 y 1
F  F  F  F sin( 20
)  F2 sin 60

 (5.0 N )( 0.342)  (8.0 N )(0.866)  5.2 N

 Resolution of Force into Component

Example 01:
Step 2:Find component ax and ay

ax 
 F x

8.7 N
 29ms 2
m 0.30kg

ay 
 F y

5.2 N
 17ms 2
m 0.30kg
So, magnitude of puck’s acceleration

a  (29) 2  (17) 2 ms 2  34ms 2

 ay  1  17 
Direction of puck’s acceleration: q  tan  1
  tan    30
a  29 
 x 
 Exercise

A 400-N force is exerted at a 60-degree angle (a direction of 300

degrees) to move a railroad car eastward along a railroad track. A top
view of the situation is depicted in the diagram. The force applied to the
car has both a vertical (southward) and a horizontal component
(eastward). Determine the magnitudes of these two component.s
Exercise 2
 Solutions:
Diagram A

Cos (30 °) = Fx / (100N)

Fx = 100 N x Cos (30 °)
= 86.6 N
Sin (30 °) = (Fy / (100N) Diagram B
Fy = 100 N x Sin (30 °)
Cos (45 °) = Fx / (100N)
= 50.0 N
Fx = 100 N x Cos (45 °)
= 70.7 N
Sin (45 °) = Fy / (100N)
Diagram C Fy = 100 N x Sin (45 °)
= 70.7 N
Cos (60 °) = Fx / (100N)
Fx = 100 N x Cos (60 °)
= 50.0 N
Sin (60 °) = Fy/ (100N)
Fy = 100 N x Sin (60 °)
= 86.6 N
 Triangle of Forces

Example 02:
The 50 kg box as shown below is subjected to a 400 N towing
force. Find the acceleration of the box, a. (use μ = 0.3,
g = 9.81 ms-2)
F = 400 N

30o

Step 1 :
Draw free-body diagram R
F
Fy
Ff
Fx

W
 Triangle of Forces

Example 02:

Step 1 :
Draw free-body diagram ∑ Fy = may
Fy + R – W = 50 (0), ay= 0 ms-2
R 400 sin 30o + R – 50 (9.81) = 0
200 + R – 490.5 = 0
F R = 290.5 N

Fy ∑ Fx = max
Ff
Fx
Fx – Ff = 50ax Ff = μR
400 cos 30o - 0.3 (290.5) = 50ax
50ax = 346.41 – 87.15
ax = 259.26 / 50
W = 5.19 ms-2
 Triangle of Forces

Example 03:
The 50 kg box as shown below rests on the inclined plane. Find
the coefficient of friction, μ. (g = 9.81 ms-2)

q = 30o

Step 1 :
Draw free-body diagram

W
 Triangle of Forces

Example 03:

Step 2 :
Equation of force ∑ Fx = max
Ff – Wx = 50 (0), W = mg
μR – 50 (9.81) sin 30o = 0
μR - 245.25 = 0
μ = 245.25 / R ………………..(1)

∑ Fy = may
R – Wy = 50 (0)
R – 50 (9.81) cos 30o = 0
W R = 424.79 N

from (1) :
μ = 245.25 / 424.79 μ = 0.58
 Bow’s Notation

• Graphical method of representing coplanar forces

and stresses.

• When several members are pinned together and the joint is in

total equilibrium, the resultant force must be zero.

• This means that if we add up all the forces as vectors,

they must form a closed polygon.
 Bow’s Notation

a q1 a = b = c
c Sine Rules
B q2
q3 Sin q3 Sin q1 Sin q2
b
C

a2= b2 + c2 - 2bc cos q3

b2= a2 + c2 - 2ac cos q1 Cosine

Rules
c2= a2 + b2 - 2ab cos q2
 Bow’s Notation

Example 04:
A strut is held vertical as shown by two guy ropes. The maximum
allowable compressive force in the strut is 20 kN. Calculate the
forces in each rope. Note that ropes can only be in tension and
exert a pull. They cannot push.
 Bow’s Notation

Example 04:
 Bow’s Notation

Example 04:
 Resultant Forces
Daya Paduan

• The resultant is the vector sum of all the individual vectors

• The resultant is the result of combining the individual vectors

together.

• The resultant can be determined by adding the individual forces

together using vector addition methods

• There are a variety of methods for determining the magnitude

and direction of the result of adding two or more vectors such as
polygon method, parallelogram method and method of
components
 Resultant Forces

Example 05:
P = 800 N
Combine the 2 forces P and T
which act on the fixed structure
6m into a single equivalent force R.
60o

3 m

P = 800 N cos 60o = b / 6 sin 60o = a / 6

α
b = 6 cos 60o a = 6 sin 60o
6m a
α 60o tan α = 6 sin 60o / 3 + 6 cos 60o
3 m b = 0.866
α = 40.9o
 Resultant Forces

Example 05:
P = 800 N
R2 = (800)2 + (600)2 + 2 (800) (600) cos α 40.9o

R = 524 N
R

P = 800 N
α
R
 Resultant Forces

Example 06:
100 N

Force 100 N and 80 N act on the

30o bracket as shown. Determine the
20o
resultant force.

80 N
 Resultant Forces

Example 06:
100 N R

20o 100 N
30o
R q
20o 80 N
50o
80 N

q = 180o – 50o
= 130o

R2 = (80)2 + (100)2 – 2 (80) (100) cos 130o

R = 163.4 N
Parallelogram of Forces
 Equilibrium Three
Inclined Forces

• Lami's theorem in statics states that if three coplanar forces are

acting on a same point and keep it stationary, then it obeys the
relation where A, B and C are the magnitude of forces acting at the
point and the values of α, β and γ are the angles directly opposite
to the forces A, B and C respectively

A B C
 
sin(  ) sin(  ) sin(  )
 Equilibrium Three
Inclined Forces

Example 07:
Find the value of P and Q
Q
120o P using Lami’s theorem:

10N P Q 10
 
sin 150 sin 90 sin 120

To get the value of P takes:

P 10 10 sin 150
 P = 5.8 N
sin 150 sin 120 sin 120

For value of Q:
Q 10 10 sin 90
 Q = 11.5 N
sin 90 sin 120 sin 120
 Equilibrium Three
Inclined Forces

Example 08:
Find the value of F and R
 Polygon Method

• Many vectors can be added together in this

way by drawing the successive vectors in a
head-to-tail fashion
 Polygon Method

• If the polygon is closed, the resultant is a

vector of zero magnitude and has no direction

• This is called the null vector, or 0

 Polygon Method

Example 09:

Using the polygon method of vector addition, calculate the resultant

of the following three vectors. The reference direction is vertical with
angles measured in a clockwise direction.

A = 3 units, 40°
B = 6 units, 150°
C = 2 units, 70°
 Polygon Method

Example 09:

Step 1: First indicate the reference direction and the scale

 Polygon Method

Step 2: Draw a light pencil line parallel to the reference

direction at the start of vector A , i.e, the point 0
 Polygon Method

Step 3: Using a protractor, measure an angle of 40° clockwise

from this line and draw a line 3 cm long (equivalent to 3
units) in this direction from the point 0. Label vector A and
indicate its direction
 Polygon Method

Step 4: Draw another light pencil line parallel to the reference

direction through the terminal point of vector A. Using a
protractor, measure an angle of 150° from this line and draw a
line 6 cm long from the terminal point of vector A. Label
vector B and indicate its direction
 Polygon Method

Step 5: Draw another light pencil line parallel to the reference

direction through the terminal point of vector B. Using a
protractor, measure an angle of 70° from this line and draw a
line 2 cm long from the terminal point of vector B. Label
vector C and indicate its direction.
 Polygon Method

Step 6: Join point 0 to the terminal point of vector C.

This represents the resultant R
 Polygon Method

Step 7: Measure the length and direction of R

 Worked Example 2

Lifting a pole
A man pulls on a rope to raises a 10 kg pole, of length 4m.
Find the tension in the rope and the reaction at A.

FBD to Scale.
The body with 3 forces is the log.
We know direction of gravity at G.
We know direction of cable force at B.
Draw this diagram accurately to scale to get intersection point of these
2 forces, and hence the angle of the 3rd force at A.

Force Polygon
1. Start with the 95.1N vertical force at 270°.
2. Now add an unknown length line at 58.6
Type equation here.
The last unknown length line at 200o must get back to the start point,
so draw it attached to the start.
Now trim these unknown length line together to give the completed
Force Triangle.
Dimension to get Forces.
 Learning Outcome
After completing the unit, students should be able to :

1. State the of forces and reaction and it is unit.

2. Represent of a force by a vector
3. State the meaning of equilibrium force
4. Calculate addition and subtraction vector method.
5. Determine and calculate the resultant of two coplanar forces using
a) The triangle of forces method
b) The parallelogram of forces method
c) The cosine and sine rules
d) Resolution of forces
6. Determine the resultant of more than two coplanar forces using
a) The polygon of forces method
b) Calculation by resolution of forces
7. Determine unknown forces when three or more coplanar forces are
in equilibrium