How is the resultant of forces of parallel forces acting on the same straight line in two different directions determined?

In the scenario involving parallel forces acting on the same straight line in two different directions, the resultant force is determined by considering the magnitudes of the forces and their directions. When forces are applied in opposite directions, they essentially work against each other. Therefore, to find the net effect or resultant force, you subtract the smaller force from the larger force.

For example, if you have one force acting to the right with a magnitude of 5 units and another to the left with a magnitude of 3 units, the resultant force would be the difference between these two forces, which in this case would be 2 units to the right. This subtraction accounts for the opposing nature of the forces, giving a clear understanding of the net force in action.

This approach does not apply to additive methods, such as summing forces or calculating products, as they would not accurately reflect the nature of forces acting in opposite directions. Likewise, averaging the forces would not provide an accurate representation of the net effect, since it does not take into account the directional opposition of the forces involved.