Resultant of Two Perpendicular Forces
Easyvectorsresultants
Two concurrent forces act at a point: 30 N along +x and 40 N along +y. What is the magnitude of the resultant?
- A50 N
- B70 N
- C10 N
- D35 N
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Answer: A. 50 N
Perpendicular components add by Pythagoras: R = √(302 + 402) = √(900 + 1600) = √2500 = 50 N. Its direction is θ = arctan(40/30) = 53.1° above the x-axis. Adding magnitudes directly (70 N) is only valid when forces are collinear.
N
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