What determines how an object moves is the vector \(\textit{sum}\) of all of the forces acting on that object, also called the \(\textbf{net external force}\) on the object (or, for short, the \(\textbf{net force}\)). If the individual forces acting on an object are \(\vec{F}_1, \vec{F}_2, \vec{F}_3\), and so on, we can write the net force on that object as: