1.15 Resultant force
Resultant force combines the forces acting along a line, showing whether forces balance or produce acceleration in one direction overall.
- Syllabus
- 2024
- Objective
- 1.15
- Level
- —
Exam analysis
Chance of appearing14%of analysed past papers
Latest appearanceMay 2025
Most common paperPaper1PR
Typical marks1–2
Common command terms
- Calculate
- State
- Explain
- Draw
Scoring notes
- Common mistake
- Adding opposite forces instead of subtracting them to find the resultant.
Recent exam appearances
May 2025Paper1PR [] · TZ01(a)[ 1 ]1.15 Resultant force
May 2024Paper1PR [null] · TZ03(b)[ 3 ]1.15 Resultant force
Jan 2023Paper2P [null] · TZ05(b)(ii)[ 2 ]1.15 Resultant force
June 2022Paper1PR [null] · TZ04(a)[ 1 ]1.15 Resultant force
June 2019Paper1PR [null] · TZ010(a)(ii)[ 1 ]1.15 Resultant force
Practice this objective
Coverage 2019–2025 · Updated 16 Jul 2026
1.15 Resultant force
Calculate the resultant force of forces that act along a line
Concept essentials
- The resultant force is the overall effect of all forces on an object.
- Equal opposite forces give a resultant force of zero.
- An object can stay stationary when upward tension balances weight.
- At constant speed, driving and resistive forces are balanced.
- Forces along a line must be combined with direction in mind.