Engineering Mechanics-Statics

Before dealing with a group or system of forces, it is necessary to examine the properties of a
single force in some detail, A force has been define as an action of one body on another. In dynamics we
will see that a force is defined as an action which tends to cause acceleration of a body. A force is a
vector quantity, because its effect depends on the direction as well as on the magnitude of the action.
Thus, the forces may be combined according to the parallelogram taw of vector addition.