- Every member in a truss (beams between two points, e.g. Member AB) responds to the given load, in red.
- The rectangle on the left side is stationary and acts as the "ground" in the problem.
- Certain members do not contribute to the stability of the structure - these are known as "zero-force members."
- A useful way to figure out which members are zero-force is by observing that each point is in static equilibrium, so the sum of forces is zero.
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