These two factors, represented in diagrams by arrows, determine what effect the force has on the object. The arrow points in the same direction as the force. Two or more forces can act to pull or push at the same point on a body. These forces can be replaced by a single force, the net force or resultant, which reproduces the same effect on the body as the separate forces. Suppose we apply two forces to a body that will only act to move the object.
Forces often act at an angle to each other.
In this situation we need an approach to determine the magnitude and direction of the net force. One way is to graphically construct a parallelogram using two forces to represent two of the sides. The diagonal of the parallelogram represents the net force of the two given forces. The length of the diagonal represents the magnitude of the combined forces. The direction of the net force is along the diagonal and away from where the two forces are applied.