Moments (Also seen in GCSE Physics 3)

The moment of a force is its turning affect about a fixed point (pivot).

The magnitude of the moment is given by:

moment = force x perpendicular distance from force to the pivot

In this diagram we can see that the force is not acting perpendicularly to the pivot. We must find the perpendicular or closest distance, this is s cosθ.

The moment in this case is given as:

We could have also used the value of s but multiplied it by the vertical component of the force. This would give us the same equation.

Moments are measured in Newton metres, Nm