Net Force Calculator

What is Net Force?

Net Force Definition:

The net force is simply the sum of all forces acting on an object. This can be further complicated when the forces are acting in different directions. In this case, the forces need to be broken down into their x and y components and then summed.

Net Force Formula

The following formula is used to calculate the net force acting on an object.

Net Force X Direction = F1*cos(a1) + F2*cos(a2) + ...

Net Force Y Direction = F1*sin(a1) +F2*sin(a2) +...

• Where F1, F2, etc are the forces
• a1, a2, etc are the angles those forces make with the positive x-axis (horizontal)

Net Force Definition

The net force is simply the sum of all forces acting on an object. This can be further complicated when the forces are acting in different directions. In this case, the forces need to be broken down into their x and y components and then summed.

Net Force Example

How to calculate net force?

In this example problem, we will be determining the net (resultant) force from two individual forces acting on an object.

These forces and angles are given as 20 N at 5° and 10 N at 60° (angles measured from the horizontal/positive x-direction).

First, we must break these forces into their X and Y components, which is done by multiplying the force by the cosine and sine of the angle, respectively.

Doing this we find the X components to be 19.92 N and 5.00 N respectively.

X = 20*cos(5°) = 19.92

X = 10*cos(60°) = 5.00

For the Y components, they are calculated to be 1.74 N and 8.66 N respectively.

Y = 20*sin(5°) = 1.74

Y = 10*sin(60°) = 8.66

Next, the components are added together to get

F-x direction = 19.92 + 5.00 = 24.92 N

F-y direction = 1.74 + 8.66 = 10.40 N

With the individual components in hand, the magnitude of the force can be calculated with the following formula F = Sqrt(Fx^2+Fy^2) ≈ 27.00 N.

The angle at which this net force is acting can be calculated using the formula Tan^-1 (Fy/Fx) ≈ 22.70 degrees.

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