FORCES AND EQUILIBRIUM

SIMULATING AN INCLINED PLANE WITH SPRING BALANCES If friction is negligible, the forces acting on the toy car on the inclined plane can be simulated by hanging it from two spring balances at right angles to each other. You can see that, neglecting friction, on the incline the car's weight is balanced by the action of two forces: an upwards force parallel to the plane and a force at right angles to the plane, exerted by the plane itself.

© Research Unit in Physics Education, University of Udine
Last Updated on Mon Apr 21 18:47:48 1997