Two forces of 4N and 10N act on a body. Which of the following could not be the resultant magnitude? (14N, 7N, 6N, 3N)

My first thought when dealing with resultant forces is to try out the most common combinations: combined and opposite. In this case 10N + 4N = 14N and 10N - 4N = 6N. This tactic does rule out two of the answers, but we are still left wondering what is the difference between the remaining answers: 7N and 3N. Why those two options were given? If, say, 7N is obtainable, then how?The trick to "which one is not" questions is to think in terms of boundaries, not values. By their nature, such questions imply that a whole range of values exists and your job is to figure out the boundaries of that range. There is an infinite number of angles that those two forces can be acting at, but the edge cases we have looked at before provide us with the maximum and minimum values of that range. Therefore, 3N is not obtainable, since, no matter the configuration, 10N - 4N = 6N is the absolute minimum resultant force.

AJ
Answered by Aleksandr J. Physics tutor

9315 Views

See similar Physics A Level tutors

Related Physics A Level answers

All answers ▸

If the force between two point charges of charge 'Q1' and 'Q2' which are a distance 'r' apart is 'F' then what would the force be if the charge of 'Q1' is tripled and the distance between them doubled?


A ball is kicked off a cliff at a height of 20m above ground and an angle of 30 degree from the horizontal, it follows projectile motion and lands after a time t. Its velocity at the maximum height it reaches is 20m/s, how long does it take it to land?


What is the angular velocity of a car wheel which diameter is d = 15 mm if the car velocity is of 120 km/h?


Calculate the flight time of a ball moving in parabolic motion, with initial velocity 5.0m/s at angle 30 degrees from the horizontal travelling for 23 metres.


We're here to help

contact us iconContact ustelephone icon+44 (0) 203 773 6020
Facebook logoInstagram logoLinkedIn logo

MyTutor is part of the IXL family of brands:

© 2026 by IXL Learning