PHY 2048L Experiment 4- Force Table

PHY 2048L Experiment 4- Force Table
Purpose:
1. To add a set of vectors using three methods- graphical, analytical and experimental to
find the resultant vector.

Theory:
1. Scalar quantity and vector quantity
a) Scalar: a quantity can be specified by its magnitude alone such as time (t),
mass (m), volume (V), etc.
b) Vector: a quantity must be specified by both its magnitude and direction such
as force ( F́ ), velocity ( v´ ), acceleration of gravity ( ǵ ), etc.
2. Representations of a vector:
a) Symbol: example, F́ , the top arrow indicates that force is a vector, F = |
F́ 𝗏¿ is its magnitude.
b) Graphic: F́ The direction of the arrow gives the direction of the force.
The length of the line is proportional to the magnitude of the force.
c) Components: F́ =F́ x + F́ y =F x ^x + F y ^y , where ^x and ^y are unit vectors
(or direction vectors), which are used to indicate the directions of the x and y
axes respectively. A unit vector is a vector of length 1, i.e., | ^x | = | ^y |
≡ 1.

• The two components of F́ : Fx = Fcosθ, Fy = Fsinθ
• The magnitude of F́ : F= √ F 2 + F 2
x y

´ : tanθ = F x
• The direction of F
Fy