Three-dimensional force systems: finding resultant and couple

Given forces acting at points on a rigid body in 3D (using i, j, k vectors), find the resultant force R and the resultant couple (moment) about a specified point, or reduce the system to a single force and couple.

14 questions · Standard +0.5

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Edexcel M5 Q2
6 marks Standard +0.8
2. Three forces, \(\mathbf { F } _ { 1 } , \mathbf { F } _ { 2 }\) and \(\mathbf { F } _ { 3 }\) act on a rigid body. \(\mathbf { F } _ { 1 } = ( 2 \mathbf { i } - \mathbf { j } + 3 \mathbf { k } ) \mathrm { N } , \mathbf { F } _ { 2 } = ( \mathbf { i } + \mathbf { j } - 4 \mathbf { k } )\) N and \(\mathbf { F } _ { 3 } = ( p \mathbf { i } + q \mathbf { j } + r \mathbf { k } ) \mathrm { N }\), where \(p , q\) and \(r\) are constants. All three forces act through the point with position vector \(( 3 \mathbf { i } - 2 \mathbf { j } + \mathbf { k } ) \mathrm { m }\), relative to a fixed origin. The three forces \(\mathbf { F } _ { 1 } , \mathbf { F } _ { 2 }\) and \(\mathbf { F } _ { 3 }\) are equivalent to a single force ( \(5 \mathbf { i } - 4 \mathbf { j } + 2 \mathbf { k }\) ) N , acting at the origin, together with a couple \(\mathbf { G }\).
  1. Find the values of \(p , q\) and \(r\).
  2. Find \(\mathbf { G }\).
Edexcel M5 2002 June Q2
6 marks Standard +0.8
2. Three forces, \(\mathbf { F } _ { 1 } , \mathbf { F } _ { 2 }\) and \(\mathbf { F } _ { 3 }\) act on a rigid body. \(\mathbf { F } _ { 1 } = ( 2 \mathbf { i } - \mathbf { j } + 3 \mathbf { k } ) \mathrm { N } , \mathbf { F } _ { 2 } = ( \mathbf { i } + \mathbf { j } - 4 \mathbf { k } )\) N and \(\mathbf { F } _ { 3 } = ( p \mathbf { i } + q \mathbf { j } + r \mathbf { k } ) \mathrm { N }\), where \(p , q\) and \(r\) are constants. All three forces act through the point with position vector ( \(3 \mathbf { i } - 2 \mathbf { j } + \mathbf { k }\) ) m, relative to a fixed origin. The three forces \(\mathbf { F } _ { 1 } , \mathbf { F } _ { 2 }\) and \(\mathbf { F } _ { 3 }\) are equivalent to a single force ( \(5 \mathbf { i } - 4 \mathbf { j } + 2 \mathbf { k }\) ) N, acting at the origin, together with a couple \(\mathbf { G }\).
  1. Find the values of \(p , q\) and \(r\).
  2. Find \(\mathbf { G }\).
Edexcel M5 2003 June Q3
13 marks Challenging +1.2
3. \section*{Figure 1}
\includegraphics[max width=\textwidth, alt={}]{1fa7336c-20aa-45c1-b685-d8e205367227-3_528_755_317_618}
Figure 1 shows a box in the shape of a cuboid \(P Q R S T U V W\) where \(\overrightarrow { P Q } = 3 \mathbf { i }\) metres, \(\overrightarrow { P S } = 4 \mathbf { j }\) metres and \(\overrightarrow { P T } = 3 \mathbf { k }\) metres. A force \(( 4 \mathbf { i } - 2 \mathbf { j } ) \mathrm { N }\) acts at \(Q\), a force \(( 4 \mathbf { i } + 2 \mathbf { j } ) \mathrm { N }\) acts at \(R\), a force \(( - 2 \mathbf { j } + \mathbf { k } ) \mathrm { N }\) acts at \(T\), and a force \(( 2 \mathbf { j } + \mathbf { k } ) \mathrm { N }\) acts at \(W\). Given that these are the only forces acting on the box, find
  1. the resultant force acting on the box,
  2. the resultant vector moment about \(P\) of the four forces acting on the box. When an additional force \(\mathbf { F }\) acts on the box at a point \(X\) on the edge \(P S\), the box is in equilibrium.
  3. Find \(\mathbf { F }\).
  4. Find the length of \(P X\).
Edexcel M5 2007 June Q5
9 marks Standard +0.8
5. Two forces \(\mathbf { F } _ { 1 }\) and \(\mathbf { F } _ { 2 }\) act on a rigid body, where \(\mathbf { F } _ { 1 } = ( 3 \mathbf { i } + 4 \mathbf { j } - 6 \mathbf { k } ) \mathrm { N }\) and \(\mathbf { F } _ { 2 } = ( 5 \mathbf { i } - \mathbf { j } + 2 \mathbf { k } ) \mathrm { N }\).
The force \(\mathbf { F } _ { 1 }\) acts at the point with position vector \(( \mathbf { i } - 2 \mathbf { j } ) \mathrm { m }\), and the force \(\mathbf { F } _ { 2 }\) acts at the point with position vector ( \(3 \mathbf { i } - \mathbf { k }\) ) m. The two forces are equivalent to a single force \(\mathbf { F }\) acting at the point with position vector \(( \mathbf { i } - \mathbf { k } ) \mathrm { m }\), together with a couple \(\mathbf { G }\).
  1. Find \(\mathbf { F }\).
  2. Find the magnitude of \(\mathbf { G }\).
    (8)
Edexcel M5 2008 June Q3
11 marks Standard +0.3
3. A system of forces consists of two forces \(\mathbf { F } _ { 1 }\) and \(\mathbf { F } _ { 2 }\) acting on a rigid body. \(\mathbf { F } _ { 1 } = ( - 2 \mathbf { i } + \mathbf { j } - \mathbf { k } ) \mathrm { N }\) and acts at the point with position vector \(\mathbf { r } _ { 1 } = ( \mathbf { i } - \mathbf { j } + \mathbf { k } ) \mathrm { m }\). \(\mathbf { F } _ { 2 } = ( 3 \mathbf { i } - \mathbf { j } + 2 \mathbf { k } ) \mathrm { N }\) and acts at the point with position vector \(\mathbf { r } _ { 2 } = ( 4 \mathbf { i } - \mathbf { j } - 2 \mathbf { k } ) \mathrm { m }\).
Given that the system is equivalent to a single force \(\mathbf { R } \mathrm { N }\), acting at the point with position vector \(( 5 \mathbf { i } + \mathbf { j } - \mathbf { k } ) \mathrm { m }\), together with a couple \(\mathbf { G N m }\), find
  1. \(\mathbf { R }\),
  2. the magnitude of \(\mathbf { G }\).
    (9)
Edexcel M5 2014 June Q6
11 marks Standard +0.3
6. Three forces \(\mathbf { F } _ { 1 } , \mathbf { F } _ { 2 }\) and \(\mathbf { F } _ { 3 }\) act on a rigid body at the points with position vectors, \(\mathbf { r } _ { 1 } , \mathbf { r } _ { 2 }\) and \(\mathbf { r } _ { 3 }\) respectively, where \(\mathbf { F } _ { 1 } = ( 2 \mathbf { i } - \mathbf { j } + \mathbf { k } ) \mathrm { N }\) \(\mathbf { F } _ { 2 } = ( 3 \mathbf { i } + \mathbf { j } - 2 \mathbf { k } ) \mathrm { N }\) \(\mathbf { F } _ { 3 } = ( - \mathbf { i } + 2 \mathbf { j } + 2 \mathbf { k } ) \mathrm { N }\) \(\mathbf { r } _ { 1 } = ( \mathbf { i } - \mathbf { k } ) \mathrm { m }\) \(\mathbf { r } _ { 2 } = ( 2 \mathbf { i } - \mathbf { j } + \mathbf { k } ) \mathrm { m }\) \(\mathbf { r } _ { 3 } = ( \mathbf { i } + \mathbf { j } - \mathbf { k } ) \mathrm { m }\) The system of the three forces is equivalent to a single force \(\mathbf { R }\) acting at the point with position vector ( \(\mathbf { 3 i } - \mathbf { j } + \mathbf { k } ) \mathrm { m }\), together with a couple of moment \(\mathbf { G }\).
  1. Find \(\mathbf { R }\).
  2. Find \(\mathbf { G }\).
Edexcel M5 2016 June Q3
11 marks Standard +0.8
  1. Three forces \(\mathbf { F } _ { 1 } , \mathbf { F } _ { 2 }\) and \(\mathbf { F } _ { 3 }\) act on a rigid body at the points with position vectors \(\mathbf { r } _ { 1 } , \mathbf { r } _ { 2 }\) and \(\mathbf { r } _ { 3 }\) respectively, where \(\mathbf { F } _ { 1 } = ( 2 \mathbf { j } - \mathbf { k } ) \mathrm { N }\) \(\mathbf { F } _ { 3 } = ( \mathbf { i } + \mathbf { j } ) \mathrm { N }\) \(\mathbf { r } _ { 1 } = ( 4 \mathbf { j } - \mathbf { k } ) \mathrm { m }\) \(\mathbf { r } _ { 3 } = ( 3 \mathbf { i } + \mathbf { j } + \mathbf { k } ) \mathrm { m }\) \(\mathbf { F } _ { 1 } = ( 2 \mathbf { j } - \mathbf { k } ) \mathrm { N }\) \(\mathbf { r } _ { 1 } = ( 4 \mathbf { j } - \mathbf { k } ) \mathrm { m }\)
$$\begin{aligned} & \mathbf { F } _ { 2 } = ( \mathbf { i } + \mathbf { k } ) \mathrm { N } \\ & \mathbf { r } _ { 2 } = ( 2 \mathbf { i } + \mathbf { k } ) \mathrm { m } \end{aligned}$$ j The system of the three forces is equivalent to a single force \(\mathbf { R }\) acting through the point with position vector \(( \mathbf { i } - \mathbf { j } + \mathbf { k } ) \mathrm { m }\), together with a couple of moment \(\mathbf { G }\).
  1. Find \(\mathbf { R }\).
  2. Find \(\mathbf { G }\). respectively, where The
OCR M3 2006 January Q10
Standard +0.8
10 JANUARY 2006 Afternoon
1 hour 30 minutes
Additional materials:
8 page answer booklet
Graph paper
List of Formulae (MF1) TIME
1 hour 30 minutes
  • Write your name, centre number and candidate number in the spaces provided on the answer booklet.
  • Answer all the questions.
  • Give non-exact numerical answers correct to 3 significant figures unless a different degree of accuracy is specified in the question or is clearly appropriate.
  • The acceleration due to gravity is denoted by \(\mathrm { g } \mathrm { m } \mathrm { s } ^ { - 2 }\). Unless otherwise instructed, when a numerical value is needed, use \(g = 9.8\).
  • You are permitted to use a graphical calculator in this paper.
  • The number of marks is given in brackets [ ] at the end of each question or part question.
  • The total number of marks for this paper is 72.
  • Questions carrying smaller numbers of marks are printed earlier in the paper, and questions carrying larger numbers of marks later in the paper.
  • You are reminded of the need for clear presentation in your answers.
AQA Further Paper 3 Mechanics 2023 June Q2
1 marks Moderate -0.5
2 The force \(( 3 \mathbf { i } + 4 \mathbf { j } ) \mathrm { N }\) acts at the point with coordinates \(( 0,2 )\) The unit vectors \(\mathbf { i }\) and \(\mathbf { j }\) are directed along the \(x\)-axis and the \(y\)-axis respectively.
Calculate the magnitude of the moment of this force about the origin.
Circle your answer.
[0pt] [1 mark]
6 Nm
8 Nm
10 Nm
14 Nm
Edexcel M5 Q4
12 marks Standard +0.8
Two forces \(\mathbf{F}_1 = (3i + k)\) N and \(\mathbf{F}_2 = (4i + j - k)\) N act on a rigid body. The force \(\mathbf{F}_1\) acts at the point with position vector \((2i - j + 3k)\) m and the force \(\mathbf{F}_2\) acts at the point with position vector \((-3i + 2k)\) m. The two forces are equivalent to a single force \(\mathbf{R}\) acting at the point with position vector \((i + 2j + k)\) m together with a couple of moment \(\mathbf{G}\). Find,
  1. \(\mathbf{R}\), [2]
  2. \(\mathbf{G}\). [4]
A third force \(\mathbf{F}_3\) is now added to the system. The force \(\mathbf{F}_3\) acts at the point with position vector \((2i - k)\) m and the three forces \(\mathbf{F}_1\), \(\mathbf{F}_2\) and \(\mathbf{F}_3\) are equivalent to a couple.
  1. Find the magnitude of the couple. [6]
Edexcel M5 2011 June Q4
12 marks Challenging +1.2
Two forces \(\mathbf{F}_1 = (3\mathbf{i} + \mathbf{k})\) N and \(\mathbf{F}_2 = (4\mathbf{i} + \mathbf{j} - \mathbf{k})\) N act on a rigid body. The force \(\mathbf{F}_1\) acts at the point with position vector \((2\mathbf{i} - \mathbf{j} + 3\mathbf{k})\) m and the force \(\mathbf{F}_2\) acts at the point with position vector \((-3\mathbf{i} + 2\mathbf{k})\) m. The two forces are equivalent to a single force \(\mathbf{R}\) acting at the point with position vector \((\mathbf{i} + 2\mathbf{j} + \mathbf{k})\) m together with a couple of moment \(\mathbf{G}\). Find,
  1. \(\mathbf{R}\), [2]
  2. \(\mathbf{G}\). [4]
A third force \(\mathbf{F}_3\) is now added to the system. The force \(\mathbf{F}_3\) acts at the point with position vector \((2\mathbf{i} - \mathbf{k})\) m and the three forces \(\mathbf{F}_1\), \(\mathbf{F}_2\) and \(\mathbf{F}_3\) are equivalent to a couple.
  1. Find the magnitude of the couple. [6]
Edexcel M5 2014 June Q3
9 marks Standard +0.8
Three forces \(\mathbf{F}_1\), \(\mathbf{F}_2\) and \(\mathbf{F}_3\) act on a rigid body at the points with position vectors \(\mathbf{r}_1\), \(\mathbf{r}_2\) and \(\mathbf{r}_3\) respectively. \(\mathbf{F}_1 = (2\mathbf{i} + 3\mathbf{j} - \mathbf{k})\) N and \(\mathbf{r}_1 = (\mathbf{i} + \mathbf{j} - 2\mathbf{k})\) m, \(\mathbf{F}_2 = (\mathbf{i} - 4\mathbf{j} - 2\mathbf{k})\) N and \(\mathbf{r}_2 = (3\mathbf{i} - \mathbf{j} - \mathbf{k})\) m, \(\mathbf{F}_3 = (-3\mathbf{i} + \mathbf{j} + 3\mathbf{k})\) N and \(\mathbf{r}_3 = (\mathbf{i} - 2\mathbf{j} + \mathbf{k})\) m. Show that the system is equivalent to a couple and find the magnitude of the vector moment of this couple. [9]
AQA Further Paper 3 Mechanics 2021 June Q2
1 marks Easy -1.8
A force of magnitude 7 N acts at each end of a rod of length 20 cm, forming a couple. The forces act at right angles to the rod, as shown in the diagram below. \includegraphics{figure_2} Find the magnitude of the resultant moment of the couple. Circle your answer. [1 mark] 1.4 N m 2.8 N m 140 N m 280 N m
OCR MEI Further Mechanics Major 2019 June Q1
5 marks Standard +0.3
Three forces represented by the vectors \(-4\mathbf{i} + \mathbf{j} + 2\mathbf{j}\) and \(k\mathbf{i} - 2\mathbf{j}\) act at the points with coordinates \((0, 0)\), \((3, 0)\) and \((0, 4)\) respectively.
  1. Given that the three forces form a couple, find the value of \(k\). [2]
  2. Find the magnitude and direction of the couple. [3]