Activity 3.

Addition of Vectors and The Force Table Method

Date:_____________________________ Name of group members:_____________________

Physics deals mostly on vector quantities that employ mathematical methods apart
from simple mathematical operations on whole numbers. Since vector quantities are described
by both magnitude and direction, they can be resolved from different methods in finding their
sum and/or resultant value. One method used is graphically present vectors quantities in
Cartesian plane (or in three dimension). Here, vectors must be drawn to scale (e.g. 1000N =
10 mm), then known vectors are connected head to tail. The resultant of these vectors is
found by connecting the tail of the first vector to the head of the last vector and measure its
magnitude. The direction of this resultant vector, on the other hand, is measured from the +x
axis to the resultant (See Figure 3.1) vector. Alternatively, the parallelogram method
(graphical) can also be done by drawing parallel lines to the given vectors (See Figure 3.2). The
resultant vector is measured from the main diagonal of the parallelogram.





Figure 3.1 Graphical method with given
vectors

and

. The resultant vector

with its direction

R
.





Figure 3.2 Parallelogram method to find
the resultant vector

and its direction

R
.

Mathematical analysis can be employed from the graphical method and make use of the
relations such as the Pythagorean Theorem to determine the magnitude of the resultant vector
and the trigonometric functions to determine its direction. However, this works well with only
two given vectors. For more than two vectors, an intermediate method can be done by
summing up the components of each vector (Young, et al., 2008; Knight, 2008; Walker, 2008).
We call this method a component method.




Figure 3.3 Vectors A and B are broken into
their respective x and y components.
Given the components of

, one can
obtain the corresponding components of
the resultant vector

, R
x
and R
y
. These
components can be determined by
y
x
A
B
R

B

y
x
A
B
R

B

y
x

B

B
x

B
y

A
x

A
y

Addition of Vectors and The Force Table Method

and

.
The magnitude then can be determined
using the Pythagorean relation

The direction of this resultant vector is
determined using the tangent function

In this experiment, you are going to determine the resultant vector using three different
methods and compare your results. The first two methods are described above. The third
method uses the Force Table. In this method, you are going to determine the equilibrant vector
from the given vector. This vector is of the same magnitude as the resultant but directed 180
opposite from the resultant vector.

Materials:
Force Table with accessories, weights (slotted or hooked) and hangers, ruler and protractor

Procedure:
A. Graphical Method
1. Ask from your instructor the set of vectors for your group.
2. Using the graphical method (either parallelogram or polygon), determine the
resultant vector

of the given combinations in the table.

3. Record your data in the table below.

B. Mathematical method (Component method)
1. Of your given values of vectors, determine the resultant vector

using the
component method for the given combinations in the table.
2. Record your data in the table below.
C. Force Table method
1. Set up the force table with its round table parallel with table top. Adjust if
necessary.
2. The center of the round table is the indicator when the equilibrant vector balances
the given combinations in the data in Table 4.A
3. For the given combination of vector

and

, set the two vectors on the force table

corresponding to their given amount and direction.
Addition of Vectors and The Force Table Method
4. Now, determine the equilibrant vector by making the center of the round table
centered on the washer (circular ring).
5. Record the amount and the opposite direction of this equilibrant vector.
6. Repeat the procedure for the other combinations of the given vectors.
7. Record your data in Table 4.A
Data:
Table 4.A. Addition of vectors

;
Vector
Combinations
Resultant Vector
Graphical Component Equilibrant

Questions:
1. What is the equivalent resultant vector of the equilibrant vector obtained using the
force table?



2. Compare this resultant vector obtained from the other two methods by taking their
%difference between them.



3. a) If in the above given vectors

are added to another vector

, what would
be its magnitude and direction such that the resultant vector

. b) How does this

combination look in the force table? (You can illustrate this as your answer.)

Conclusion: