Consider a member subjected to axial forces. Introduce a sectional plane inclined to the normal plane, called an oblique plane. The stresses acting on this oblique plane can be resolved into two components: normal and tangential to the section. The normal component represents the resultant of normal forces distributed over the section, while the tangential component represents the resultant of shearing forces. The average normal and shearing stresses can be calculated by dividing the normal and tangential forces by the area of the section. The normal stress is maximum when the plane of the section is perpendicular to the axis of the member and approaches zero when the sectional plane is parallel to the axis. The shearing stress is maximum when the sectional plane is inclined at 45 degrees and approaches zero when the sectional plane is parallel or perpendicular to the axis of the member. Depending on the orientation of the plane, the same load can produce either a normal stress with no shearing stress or both normal and shearing stresses of equal magnitude.