Inclined Plane

Inclined Plane

Weight component along the plane = Wsinθ.
Weight component perpendicular to the plane = Wcosθ.

Example:

A block of mass 2 kg is pulling along a plane by a 20N force as shown in diagram above. Given that the fiction between block and the plane is 2N, find the magnitude of the resultant force parallel to the plane.
Answer:

First of all, let’s examine all the forces or component of forces acting along the plane.

The force pulling the block, F = 20N
The frictional force Ffric = 2N
The weight component along the plane
= 20sin30o = 10N

The resultant force along the plane
= 20 – 2 – 10 = 8N