Question

The body is sometimes acted by two or three force members. The difference between the two and the three force members is ________________

(a) The former is collinear and the latter is parallel

(b) The former is parallel and the latter is perpendicular

(c) The former is perpendicular and the latter is collinear

(d) The former is acting on two points in the body while the latter is on three points

I had been asked this question in a national level competition.

The question is from Centre of Mass topic in chapter Centre of Gravity and Centroid of Engineering Mechanics

Answer 1

Right answer is (d) The former is acting on two points in the body while the latter is on three points

Best explanation: The definition of the two force member only defines that the forces are being acted on the two points on the body. So does is the definition of the three forces members. The points of action of the three forces are three.