A force table has a ring at its center, with strings running out to pulleys mounted around the edge. Each string goes over a pulley and down to a hanging weight — the weight's value IS the string's force in newtons, and the pulley's position sets that force's angle.
Angles are measured the standard way: counterclockwise from the positive x-axis (0°), just like a unit circle. A force at 90° points straight "up" on the table; a force at 180° points straight "left."
Any force at an angle can be split into two forces that add up to it: one pointing purely along the x-axis, one pointing purely along the y-axis.
To add several forces together, add their components separately — every x-component together, every y-component together.
The two totals, ΣFx and ΣFy, are the components of the resultant — the single force that has the same overall effect as all the individual forces combined.
Once you have ΣFx and ΣFy, the Pythagorean theorem gives you the resultant's size, and inverse tangent gives you its direction.
The equilibrantis the single force that would perfectly cancel the resultant — same magnitude, opposite direction (add 180° to the resultant's angle).
Add the equilibrant to the original two forces, and every component sums to exactly zero — which, by Newton's First Law, means the ring stays perfectly still.
Enter magnitude and angle (measured counterclockwise from the positive x-axis, like a standard force table) for each known force. This computes the resultant AND the equilibrant — the force that would balance them.
Once your teacher assigns your two real forces, come back here and plug in your actual numbers as your prediction — then copy the result to your project worksheet.
Force 1 is 40 N at 30°. Force 2 is 30 N at 120°. Find the equilibrant that balances both.