Question

A force of 800 N is exerted on a bolt A as shown. Determine the horizontal and vertical components of the force.

Answer 1

We will use the trigonometric functions of the angle α = 35°.

$F_x = -F \times cos α = -(800 \;N) cos 35° = -655 \;N$

$F_y = +F \times sin α = +(800\;N) sin 35° = +459 \;N$

The vector components of F are:

$F_x = -(655 \;N)i$

$F_y = +(459 \;N)j$

We can write F as

F = -(655 N)i + (459 N)j