Displacement and Force in Two Dimensions

3 Forces in Two Dimensions

REVIEW Recall and write the definition of the Review Vocabulary term.
VOCABULARY
equilibrium  the condition in which the net force on an object is zero
equilibrium

VOCABULARY Use your book to define the term below.

equilibrant
equilibrant  the force added to put an object in equilibrium; it has the
same magnitude as the resultant force but is in the opposite direction
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3 Forces in Two Dimensions (continued)
Explain what must be true for an object to be in equilibrium.

The net force acting on the object must be zero.

Refer to Figure 14 and Figure 15 in your textbook, and explain the

relationship between the forces acting on the ring in the vector
diagrams.

The ring shown in Figure 14 does not accelerate, so the net force acting

on the ring must be zero. The first three vectors shown in Figure 15

represent the three forces acting on the ring. Because vectors can be

moved if their directions and lengths are not changed, they are shown tip

to tail on the right in Figure 15. The vectors form a closed triangle, which

indicates that the net force acting on the ring is zero.

Get It? Identify the relationship between the equilibrant and the

resultant vector.

The equilibrant is equal in magnitude but opposite in direction from the

resultant vector.

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Draw a vector diagram below that shows a net force of zero acting on
an object. Use four vectors in your drawing.

The drawing should show four vectors linked tip to tail. The
vectors should form a closed quadrilateral to indicate that the net
force on the object is zero.

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 3 Forces in Two Dimensions (continued)
Identify the system in the problem illustrated in Figure 17. Then
describe the factors involved in the first step of solving the problem.

The girl is the system. The first step in solving the problem is identifying

the forces acting on the system. The gravitational force on the girl is

downward, toward the center of Earth. The normal force acts

perpendicular to the slide. The kinetic friction force acts parallel to the

slide, in the direction opposite to the girl’s motion. From here you can

find that the acceleration will be downward along the slide.

Identify the factors involved in choosing the coordinate system for

solving the problem described in Figure 17.

The x‑axis should be parallel to the incline, because that is the direction

of the girl’s acceleration. The y‑axis is perpendicular to the x‑axis and

thus perpendicular to the incline’s surface. Two forces, the normal force

and the friction force, are in the directions of the coordinate axes.

Identify the force described in Figure 17 that has both x- and y‑vector
components that must be used to solve the problem.
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weight of the girl

Get It? Explain why you would choose the x‑direction to be parallel

to the slope of an inclined plane.

Acceleration will be parallel to the incline, so choosing the x‑direction to

be parallel to the incline means the velocity and acceleration will be in

the x‑direction, not a combination of the x- and y‑directions. This

simplifies the solution.

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3 Forces in Two Dimensions (continued)
Use with Example TRY IT!
Problem 6.
Problem
SLIDE Afrin, who has a mass of 35 kg, is going down a slide sloped
Use this column for
at 29°. The coefficient of kinetic friction is 0.23. How fast does she
scratch work and
slide 1.5 s after starting from rest?
sketches.
1. ANALYZE AND SKETCH THE PROBLEM

KNOWNS UNKNOWNS

m = 35 kg ϕ = 29° a = ?

µk = 0.23 vi = 0.0 m/s θ = ?

t = 1.5 s vf = ?

2. SOLVE FOR THE UNKNOWNS

Find the angle of Fg from the +x‑axis:

θ = 270° + ϕ = 270° + 29° = 299°.
Add forces in the y‑direction to write an equation for FN.

FN + Fgy = Fnet, y
FN = Fnet, y − Fgy = 0.0 N − mg(sin θ) = −mg(sin θ)

Use the net force in the x‑direction and Newton’s second law to solve
for a.
Fnet, x = Fgx − Ff
max = mg(cos θ) − µkFN

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ma = mg(cos θ) + µkmg(sin θ)
a = g(cos θ + µk sin θ)
= (9.8 m/s2)(cos 299° + (0.23)sin 299°)
= 2.8 m/s2

Because vi, a, and t are all known, use the relationship between
velocity, acceleration, and time.
vf = vi + at
= 0.00 m/s + (2.8 m/s2)(1.5 s)
= 4.2 m/s

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 3 Forces in Two Dimensions (continued)
TRY IT! (CONTINUED)
3. EVALUATE THE ANSWER
• Are the units correct? Yes, dimensional analysis verifies the units.
• Is the magnitude of the velocity realistic? Yes, it is similar to a

running speed, which makes sense for a steep slide with low friction.

CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

37. Acceleration A rope pulls a 63‑kg water skier up a 14.0° incline with a tension of
512 N parallel to the ramp. The coefficient of kinetic friction between the skier and
the ramp is 0.27. What are the magnitude and direction of the skier’s acceleration?
3.2 m/s2, up the incline

38. Forces One way to get a car unstuck is to tie one end of a strong rope to the car
and the other end to a tree, then pull the rope at its midpoint at right angles to the
rope. Draw a free-body diagram and explain how even a small force on the rope
can exert a large force on the car.

The vectors shown in the free-body diagram

Fe indicate that even a small force perpendicular to the

F car
rope can increase the tension in the rope (FT)
F friction

enough to overcome the friction force. Since

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Fperson on rope = 2 FT sin θ (where θ is the angle

C05-03A-865893-A
between the rope’s original position and its

displaced position), FT = Fperson on rope / (2 sin θ).

For smaller values of θ, the tension (FT) will

increase greatly.

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3 Forces in Two Dimensions (continued)
39. Mass A large scoreboard is suspended from the ceiling of a sports arena by ten
strong cables. Six of the cables make an angle of 8.0° with the verticals and the
other four make an angle of 10.0°. If the tension in each cable is 1300 N, what is the
scoreboard’s mass?

1.31×103 kg

40. Equilibrium You are hanging a painting using two lengths of wire. The wires will
break if the force is too great. Should you hang the painting as shown in the top or
the bottom image of Figure 20? Explain.

FT gets smaller as θ gets larger, and θ is larger in

the bottom image. Hang the picture as show in

the top example.

Figure 20
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41. Critical Thinking Can the coefficient of friction ever have a value such that a child
would be able to slide up a slide at a constant velocity? Explain. Assume that no
one pushes or pulls on the child.

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No, because if the child moves up the slide, both the frictional force opposing the motion of the child

and the component of Earth’s gravity parallel to the slope point down the slide, not up.

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