Inclined plane forces
- Author:
- GeoGebra Materials Team
This graphic shows the force vectors acting on an object on an inclined plane. The "scale" slider controls the lengths of the vectors by a common multiplicative factor; adjust as needed. The "loc" slider is for the location of the object along the ramp. Some students may not recognize that the forces do not change with the location, only with the angle. The coefficient of friction mu is also available.
The equality of the ramp angle and the angle between the weight (mg) vector and the normal to the ramp is illustrated in the figure. Resolving the weight vector using this angle gives the forces acting into and parallel to the ramp. The ramp angle slider is in radians.
The forces are shown acting at the center of gravity of the object; the displacement of the CG above the ramp surface should be ignored for the purposes of this demonstration.
Click on a slider, then use the arrow or +/- keys for finer control of that parameter.