Statics: Forces at a Point

This series of interactive excel sheets look systems in static equilibrium.

The first sheet looks at two forces acting on a point. A new question can be generated by clicking “new diagram” in which the angle and value of either one of the two forces, or resultant force, are to be found. The next sheet repeats the process for three forces acting at a point. Answers can then be revealed.

The third sheets shows three forces acting on a point. Their components parallel to each axis, as well as the resultant force, are also shown. Values are displayed at the side of the diagram. The following sheet illustrates the i and j components of the three vectors, and the resultant can also be revealed.

The fifth interactive sheet shows an object in equilibrium on an inclined plane under the action of three forces. The angle of the plane and weight of the object can be adjusted and the forces resolved in two mutually perpendicular directions.

The final sheet contains a series of six questions in which students have to find the magnitude and direction of the resultant force when given three forces acting on a point. In the first three questions the magnitude and angle of each force is given, in the second set of questions i and j notation is used. Answers can be revealed by the click of a button.

Note
This program was designed by be viewed on a screen with a resolution of 1024 x 768. Users may have to adjust the resolution of their screen for the pages to display as was originally intended. The program uses macros which need to be enabled on users’ machine.