find the net force produced by a 40 Newton force and a 50 Newton force in each of the following cases:
Both forces act in the same direction.
Both forces act in opposite directions.
What do you think?
To find the net force produced by two forces, we need to consider whether the forces are acting in the same direction or opposite directions.
1. When both forces act in the same direction:
In this case, we simply add the magnitudes of the two forces to find the net force. So, the net force will be the sum of 40 Newton and 50 Newton, which is:
Net force = 40 N + 50 N = 90 Newtons
2. When both forces act in opposite directions:
When forces act in opposite directions, we need to subtract the smaller force magnitude from the larger force magnitude. The resulting value will be the net force.
As mentioned, we have a 40 Newton force and a 50 Newton force acting in opposite directions. Since 50 N is larger than 40 N, we subtract 40 N from 50 N:
Net force = 50 N - 40 N = 10 Newtons
Therefore, in the given cases:
1. When both forces act in the same direction, the net force is 90 Newtons.
2. When both forces act in opposite directions, the net force is 10 Newtons.