Enter the force and the angle of the force with respect to the horizontal to calculate the parallel component of the force.
Parallel Force Formula
The following formula is used to calculate the parallel component of a force.
F_{parallel} = F cdot cos(theta)Variables:
- Fparallel is the parallel component of the force (N)
- F is the magnitude of the force (N)
- (theta) is the angle of the force with respect to the horizontal (degrees)
To calculate the parallel component of a force, multiply the magnitude of the force by the cosine of the angle of the force with respect to the horizontal.
What is Parallel Force?
Parallel force refers to the component of a force that is parallel to a reference plane, such as the horizontal plane. It is useful in physics and engineering to determine the effective force acting along a particular direction when the force is applied at an angle. The parallel force is responsible for the movement or acceleration of an object along the plane of interest.
How to Calculate Parallel Force?
The following steps outline how to calculate the Parallel Force.
- First, determine the magnitude of the force (F) in newtons (N).
- Next, determine the angle of the force with respect to the horizontal ((theta)) in degrees.
- Next, gather the formula from above = Fparallel = F cdot cos(theta).
- Finally, calculate the Parallel Force (Fparallel) in newtons (N).
- After inserting the variables and calculating the result, check your answer with the calculator above.
Example Problem :
Use the following variables as an example problem to test your knowledge.
Magnitude of the force (F) = 100 N
Angle of the force with respect to the horizontal ((theta)) = 30 degrees
