chapter 2: forces
components of a vector
has magnitude
has units
has algebraic sign (indicates direction)
finding components
draw right angled triangle with vector as hypotenuse and x and y components on x and y axes.
determine one angle
use trig functions to find magnitudes (x= cos(angle), y= sin(angle))
determine correct sign for each component
finding vector from its components
sketch vector on x and y axes in correct quadrant according to signs
draw right triangle
choose which unknown angles to determine
use inverse tangent function to find angle
interpret angle
use pythag to find magnitude of vector
adding vectors using components
find x and y components of each vector
add x components to find x component sum
add y components to find y component sum
use x and y components to find direction and magnitude of sum
free body diagrams
select object to which equations of equilibrium are to be applied
draw free body diagram
only forces acting on object must be included
choose set of y and x axes for each object and resolve all forces into components
apply equations and solve