The parallelogram

Parallelogram

In Euclidean geometry, a parallelogram is a convex quadrilateral with two pairs of parallel sides. The opposite or facing sides of a parallelogram are of equal length and the opposite angles of a parallelogram are of equal measure...

 of forces is a method for solving (or visualizing) the results of applying two force

Force

In physics, a force is any influence that causes an object to undergo a change in speed, a change in direction, or a change in shape. In other words, a force is that which can cause an object with mass to change its velocity , i.e., to accelerate, or which can cause a flexible object to deform...

s to an object. When more than two forces are involved, the geometry is no longer parallelogrammatic, but the same principles apply. Forces, being vectors are observed to obey the laws of vector addition, and so the overall (resultant) force due to the application of a number of forces can be found geometrically by drawing vector arrows for each force. For example, see Figure 1. This construction has the same result as moving F₂ so its tail coincides with the head of F₁, and taking the net force as the vector joining the tail of F₁ to the head of F₂. This procedure can be repeated to add F₃ to the resultant F₁ + F₂, and so forth.

See also

• Vector (geometric)
• Net force
  Net force
  In physics, net force is the total force acting on an object. It is calculated by vector addition of all forces that are actually acting on that object. Net force has the same effect on the translational motion of the object as all actual forces taken together...
  
  
• Head to Tails method