Contents
Key Stage 4
Meaning
To resolve a force is to separate a single force into two parts which act at right angles to one another.
About Resolving Forces
- Resolving forces is used to find how much of a force acts in a certain direction. For example:
- It may be useful to know what 'component' of an object's weight acts down the slope to tell if is likely to accelerate down the slope.
- A rope pulling at an angle above the horizontal has a vertical 'component' acting against weight and a horizontal 'component' acting to accelerate the object horizontally.