We say an object is in equilibrium if all the forces on it balance (add up to zero). Figure P1.75 shows a beam weighing 124 N that is supported in equilibrium by a 100.0-N pull and a force F at the floor. The third force on the beam is the 124-N weight that acts vertically downward.

(a) Use vector components to find the magnitude and direction of F.

(b) Check the reasonableness of your answer in part (a) by doing a graphical solution approximately to scale.

Figure P1.75:

Figure P1.75 100.0-N pull 30.0 40.0