Statics is the action of one body on another. A force is either a push or a pull. A force tends to move a body in the direction of its action. The action of a force is characterized by its magnitude, by the direction of its action, and by its point of application. Thus, force is a vector quantity, because its effect depends on the direction as well as on the magnitude of the action. Forces are classified as either contact or body forces. A contact force is produced by direct physical contact; an example is the force exerted on a
Euclidean vector the vector for "F" is −15 N. In either case, the magnitude of the vector is 15 N. Likewise, the vector representation of a displacement Δ"s" of 4 meters would be 4 m or −4 m, depending on its direction, and its magnitude would be 4 m regardless. Vectors are fundamental in the physical sciences. They can be used to represent any quantity that has magnitude, has direction, and which adheres to the rules of vector addition. An example is velocity, the magnitude of which is speed. For example, the velocity "5 meters per second upward" could be represented by