Component Forces

A force may be resolved into component forces. This involves a right triangle and the original force is the hypotenuse.

As an example, we can put a block on an Inclined Plane. The force on the block will be the product of the mass of the block and the acceleration caused by gravity (mg).

The block cannot move through the inclined plane. Instead, it will experience a force in the direction of the slide down the plane and it will experience a force that pushes it into the plane. These two forces are perpendicular one to the other and they are derived from the “mg” force.