2.e.

Finding the Components of a Force

Components – two separate forces equal to a single force.
Resolution – it is the process of replacing a force with its components.
In order to determine the magnitude of each component of the force F along the a and b axes, the
following procedure is applied:
1. Construct a parallelogram by drawing lines starting from the tip of the force, a line parallel to a, and a line
parallel to b, intersecting the a and b axes.
2. Label the sides of the parallelogram as the force components Fa and Fb.
3. Apply the law of sines to one of the triangles to determine the unknown magnitudes of the components.
b b

F F

O
Fa a

EXERCISES

1. Find the components of the 1500-N force shown acting along the u and v axes.
Ans. 1326.828 N,1627.595 N

45°
u
70° 60°

v
1500 N

2. The 320-lb force is to be resolved into components acting along the u and v axes. Determine the magnitudes
of these components. Ans. 490.268 lb, 431.135 lb
v

40°
u
120°

320 lb

3. Determine the components of the force F = 10 kN in the directions of the x’and y axes. Ans.16 kN, 7.856 kN
y x'

y'
F
60 3
30 4
x
4. The resultant of the two forces shown is 500 lb directed to the right along the x-axis. Find the magnitude and
direction of F. Ans. 433.128 lb, 28.68º
y

θ
x
60º

240 lb

5. The vertical force with magnitude 75 lb acts downward at A on the two-member frame shown in the figure.
Determine the magnitudes of the two components of the force directed along members AB and AC.
Ans. 67.243 lb, 54.904 lb

45º

30º
75 lb

6. The gusset plate is subjected to the two forces shown. Replace these forces with two equivalent forces; Fx in
the x direction and Fa in the a direction. What are the magnitudes of Fx and Fa?
Ans. –720.644 N, 1465.923 N

10º
x
750 N
1000 N 45º
25º
2.e. Rectangular Components of a Force

Rectangular components of a force – components that are perpendicular with one another. These components
can be determined from trigonometry.
y
Fx = F cos  ,

Fy Fy = F sin 

x
Fx

The direction of F can also be defined using the slope of its line of action. The slope triangle and the force
triangle are similar, hence, proportional. The components of the force can then be determined using ratio and
proportion.
Fx Fy = F ;
d = where: d = x2 + y2 `
Fy y x y d
x
y
x
Fx Fx = F Fy = F
d d

EXERCISES
1. Find a) the x and y components and b) the x´ and y´ components of each of the forces shown. Ans. a) For F1,
–1359.462 N and 633.927 N; for F2, 1697.056 N and 1697.056 N, b) For F1, –1149.067 N and 964.181 N;
for F2, 2318.222 N and 621.166 N
y
y´
F2 = 2400 N
F1 = 1500 N x´
45

25 30 x

2. Determine the components of the force along the x-y axes which are parallel and perpendicular to the
incline. Ans. 156.498 lb, 313.063 lb
y

P = 350 lb
x
1
2

3
4

3. The force P that is applied to the wagon, as shown in the figure, can be resolved into two components: one
parallel and one perpendicular to the incline. To pull the wagon up the incline, the parallel component must
be at least 1000 sin  N. If P = 320 N, determine the slope angle  of the steepest incline that can be ascended.
(Pytel, 1996) Ans. 16.28º
 P

1
1

4. The x-component of the force P is equal to 450 N. What is the magnitude of the force and the corresponding
y-component? Ans. 522.321 N, 265.177 N

5 x
4 12
3 3
4

5. In the figure shown, the cable AB prevents bar OA from rotating clockwise about the pivot O. Determine the
n and t components of this force acting at point A of the bar if the cable tension is 1200 N. Ans. 512.560 N,
1085.024 N
n t

2,0 m

O 60

1.5 m
2.f. Rectangular Components of a Force in Three Dimensions
The rectangular components for any force, as discussed in the previous section, can be found from
trigonometry. z
z

z
x
x y y
y

x
x Fx = F cos x
z z

F Fz z
F
y
y y
Fy
x Fy = F cos y
x Fz = F cos z

If the rectangular components are known, the magnitude of F can be determined from the relationship
F=
Direction angles or direction cosines – these are the angles x, y, and z, (where 0    180) between F and
the positive coordinate axes which can be computed as follows:
Fx Fy
 = Arc cos ,  = Arc cos ,  = Arc cos Fz
x y z
F F F

The cosines of these angles must satisfy the equation

` cos2 x + cos2 y + cos2 z = 1
If an angle is more than 90, the cosine is negative, indicating that the sense of the component is opposite to the
positive direction of the coordinate axis.

2.g.Cartesian Vectors
The analysis of some problems in three dimensions is simplified using vector algebra in which the forces
are represented in the Cartesian vector form. A right-handed coordinate system is used in the theory of vector
algebra. A rectangular or Cartesian Coordinate System is said to be right-handed if the thumb of the right hand
points in the direction of the positive z axis when the right-hand fingers are curled about the axis directed from
the positive x to the positive y axis.

2.i-1. Unit vectors

Unit vector, uA – a vector with a magnitude of one “dimensionless” unit and acts in the same direction as the
vector A. It is determined by dividing A by its magnitude A; i. e.,
A z
uA =
A
2.i-2. Cartesian unit vectors k j

The directions of the positive x, y, and z axes are defined by the i y

Cartesian unit vectors i, j, k , respectively.
2.i-3. Cartesian vector representation
Using the properties of vector addition, a vector A can be written as the sum of its three components:
A = Ax i + Ay j + Az k
This is known as the standard Cartesian form of representing a vector. Hence, for a force F with a given
magnitude and direction cosines, the Cartesian vector form is
F = F cos x i + F cos y j + F cos z k

2.h. Position Vectors

Position vector – it is defined as a fixed vector which locates a point in space relative to another point.
If r extends from the origin of coordinates O to point P(x, y, z), then r can be expressed in Cartesian
vector form as r = xi + yj + zk.

P(x, y, z)
zk r
O yj
y
xi

For a position vector r that is directed from point A to point B in space, applying the head-to-tail vector
addition and using the triangle rule, rA + r = rB. Solving for r and expressing rA and rB in Cartesian vector form
yields
r = rB – rA = (xBi + yBj + zBk) – (xAi + yAj + zAk)
or r = (xB – xA)i + (yB – yA)j + (zB – zA)k
z B(xB, yB, zB)
r
rB
A(xA, yA, zA)
rA

Thus, the i, j, k components of the position vector r may be formed by taking the coordinates of the tail of the
vector A(xA, yA, zA) and subtracting them from the corresponding coordinates of the head B(xB, yB, zB).

2.i. Force Vector Along a Line

A force F with a line of action that is directed from point a A to a point B can be expressed as a Cartesian
vector by realizing that it has the same direction and sense as a position vector r acting along its line of action.
This common direction is specified by the unit vector u. Hence, from the definition of a unit vector,
F = F u; where: u = r
r
𝒓
𝑭=𝐹
𝑟
F=F (xB − xA )i + (y B − yA )j + (zB − z A )k
(x −x ) + (y − y )2 + (z −z )2
1. The magnitude of force F is 250 lb. Express F in Cartesian vector form. Ans. F = 216.506i −125j lb
y, ft

x, ft
30º
A(4, –2)

2. Express the force as a Cartesian vector. Ans. F 247.487i −428.661j +494.975k N

F = 700 N

45º
60º

3. Express the position vector rAB in Cartesian vector form. Ans. rAB = –6i +6j +3k
z B
3m
rAB
3m
y
3m 4m

2m
x

4. The force F has a magnitude of 80 lb and acts at the midpoint C of the thin rod. Express the force as a
Cartesian vector. (Hibbeler, 1986) Ans. F = −34.286i + 22.857j −68.571k lb
z

6 ft

y
3 ft

2 ft

5. Express the force F as a Cartesian vector. Ans. F = 126.566i +253.133j −506.266k N

 z

3m

3m

5 y
x 4m

F = 580 N 5m

6. The cable AB exerts a tension of 2.5 kN on the fixed bracket at A. Write the vector expression for the vector
T. (Meriam, 2002) Ans. F = −2.301i + 0.959j + 0.192k kN
z
0.5 m
0.4 m

T = 2.5 kN

0.3 m
m
x
2.e. Dot Product or Scalar Product
Dot or scalar product of two intersecting vectors – it is defined to be a scalar quantity determined by
multiplying the magnitudes of the two vectors by the cosine of their included angle.

A · B = AB cos 

where: 0    180
B

For 0    90, the scalar is positive and for 90    180, the scalar is negative. When  = 90,
the two vectors are perpendicular and the scalar is zero.
One use of the dot product is to obtain the rectangular component of one vector along any direction. This
component is equal to the dot product of the vector with a unit vector in the desired direction. From the figure,
A · B = AB cos 
A B
A cos θ =
AB B
B AB = A · nB

2.l-1. Properties of the dot product:

1. Commutative: A · B = B · A
2. Associative: mA · nB = mnA · B
3. Distributive: A · (B + C) = A · C + A · C

2.l-2. Dot product of the unit vectors

From the definition of a dot product, the dot products of the orthogonal unit vectors are as follows:
i · i = 1×1×cos 0º = 1 j · j = 1×1×cos 0º = 1 k · k = 1×1×cos 0º = 1
i · j = 1×1×sin 0º = 0 j·i=j·k=k·j=k·i=i·k=0

2.l-3. Dot product of two vectors

A · B = (Ax i + Ay j + Az k) · (Bx i + By j + Bz k)
The vector multiplication can be evaluated by applying the properties of a dot product.
A · B = Ax i + Ay j + Az k · i + By j + Bz k
= Ax Bx i · i + Ax By i · j + Ax Bz i · k + Ay Bx j · i + Ay By j · j
+ Ay Bz j · k + Az Bx k · i + Az By k · j + Az Bz k · k
Applying the dot product operations, we finally get
A · B = AxBx + AyBy + AzBz
From the above result, the expansion of a dot product in terms of the scalar components of the vectors is
equal to the sum of the products of their respective scalar components
 EXERCISES
1. Find the component of the force A = {5i + 2j – 3k} kN that is parallel to B = {–4i + 3k} kN..
Ans. -5.8 kn
2. Two forces are applied at a point in a body as shown in the figure. Determine the
magnitude of the rectangular component of force F1 along the line of action of force F2.
(Riley, 1993) Ans. 30.53 lb
z
B

A
F1 = 120 lb
F2 = 150 lb
60 4.5 ft
O
2 ft
6 ft y
1.5 ft
x

2 The force FAB = 800 N acts along cable AB of the structure shown. Determine the projected
component of the force along cable AC. Express the result as a Cartesian vector.Ans. 168.146i -
448.390j +336.293k

1. Determine the magnitudes of the components of force F = 56 N acting along and

perpendicular to line AO. (Hibbeler, 2010) Ans. 46.9 N; 30.7 N