Department of Mechanical Engineering, Qassim Engineering College, GE-201

STATICS
CHAPTER-1- INTRODUCTION TO STATICS
1.1 Mechanics
Definition: Mechanics is the physical science which deals with the effects of forces on objects

Applications: Although the principles of mechanics are few, they have wide application in
engineering. The principles of mechanics are central to research and development in the fields of
vibrations, stability and strength of structures and machines, robotics, rocket and spacecraft
design, automatic control, engine performance, fluid flow, electrical machines and apparatus,
and molecular, atomic, and subatomic behavior.

Classification of Mechanics: The subject of mechanics is logically divided into two parts: (i)
Statics, (ii) Dynamics
(i) Statics: Statics deals and relate the equilibrium of bodies under action of forces
(ii) Dynamics: Dynamics deals and relate the motion of bodies

1.2. Basic Concepts

(a) Space: Space is the geometric region occupied by bodies whose positions are described by
linear and angular measurements relative to a coordinate system.
(b) Time (t) : Time is the measure of the succession of events and is a basic quantity in
dynamics. Time is not directly involved in the analysis of statics problems.
(c) Mass (m): Mass is a measure of the inertia of a body, which is its resistance to a change of
velocity. Mass can also be thought of as the quantity of matter in a body. The mass of a body
affects the gravitational attraction force between it and other bodies
(d) Force (F): Force is the action of one body on another. 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.
(e) Particle: A particle is a body of negligible dimensions.
(f) Rigid body. A body is considered rigid when the change in distance between any two of its
points is negligible for the purpose at hand

1.3 Scalars and Vectors

Scalars: Scalar quantities are those with which only a magnitude is associated. Examples of
scalar quantities are time, volume, density, speed, energy and mass.
Vectors: Vector quantities, on the other hand, possess direction as well as magnitude, and must
obey the parallelogram law of addition. Examples of vector quantities are displacement, velocity,
acceleration, force, moment, and momentum. Speed is a scalar. It is the magnitude of velocity,
which is a vector. Thus velocity is specified by a direction as well as a speed.

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Hand-out prepared by Dr.S.Sivasankaran
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Qassim Engineering College, GE-201
STATICS
Working with Vectors

V
A vector quantity is represented by a line segment, Fig. 1/1, having the direction of the vector
and having an arrowhead to indicate the sense. The length of the directed line segment represents
V
to some convenient scale the magnitude or V of the vector.

V V
The direction of the vector may be measured by an angle from some

V
known reference direction as shown in Fig. 1/1. The negative of is a vector

V
having the same magnitude as V but directed in the sense opposite to , as shown in Fig. 1/1.

(a) Parallelogram law of vector (Fig 1/2 (b)):

V1 V2
If two vectors ( , ) (Figure 1/2 (a)) acting simultaneously on a particle are represented in
magnitude and direction by the two adjacent sides of a parallelogram drawn from a point, then

V
their resultant ( ) is completely represented in magnitude and direction by the diagonal of that
parallelogram drawn from that point (Figure 1/2 (b)). This combination is called the vector sum,
and is represented by the vector equation as below:

V V1 V2
(Vector addition)

V1
Let, magnitude of free vector = V1

V2
Magnitude of free vector = V2

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Hand-out prepared by Dr.S.Sivasankaran
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Qassim Engineering College, GE-201
STATICS
The magnitude of resultant vector (V) can be determined using either cosine law or sine law

V V12 V22 2V1V2 cos

According to cosine law,
V1 V V
2
sin sin sin
According to sine law,

(b) Triangle law of vector (Fig. 1/2 (c)):

It states that when two vectors are represented by two sides of a triangle in magnitude and
direction taken in same order then third side of that triangle represents in magnitude and
direction the resultant of the vectors

V V1 V2
The resultant vector, (Vector addition)
The magnitude of resultant vector (V) can be determined using either cosine law or sine law as
said above
Vector subtraction or difference:

A vector difference is the result of subtracting one vector from another. A vector difference is

V1 V2
denoted using the normal minus sign, i.e., the vector difference of vectors and is written
as:

V V1 V2 V1 (V2 )

Vector Components
Vector can always be represented in two dimension and three dimension.

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Hand-out prepared by Dr.S.Sivasankaran
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Qassim Engineering College, GE-201
STATICS

xi yj
In two dimension, vector is represented in the form of . In three dimension, it is

xi yj zk
represented by .
Vector Components definition:
In a two dimension coordinate system, if we have a vector, then that vector has two parts in two
different directions, one is in horizontal and the other one is in vertical direction. These two parts
of vectors are called the components of the given vector.

V V
If is the vector, then the horizontal component of
V x cos V x sin
is given by and vertical component is given by respectively, where is the

V
angle which is made by vector with the x axis. So, these components are called the
rectangular components of the vectors

Vy
tan 1
Vx
The direction of vector,

V
Note: If a resultant vector is acting at a distance of Vx component with an angle x from x-
direction, Vy component with an angle y from y-direction, then the resultant vector directions
can be found by direction cosines as below:

Vx Vy
cos x , cos y , V V x2 V y2
V V
where,
Unit vector:

V
If a vector ( ) is divided by its magnitude (V), then the vector is called unit vector which is
denoted by n

V Vx i V y j Vz k
n
V V x2 V y2 V z2

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Hand-out prepared by Dr.S.Sivasankaran
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Qassim Engineering College, GE-201
STATICS
3-Dimensional Vectors
In many problems, particularly three-dimensional ones, it is

V
convenient to express the rectangular components of ,
Figure, in terms of unit vectors i, j, and k, which are vectors in
the x-, y-, and z-directions, respectively, with unit magnitudes.

V
Because the vector is the vector sum of the components in

V
the x-, y-, and z-directions, we can express as follows

V Vx i V y j Vz k

Using direction cosines,

Vx Vy V
l cos x , m cos y , n cos z z
V V V

V V x2 V y2 V z2
where, V = magnitude of resultant vector,
where, l, m, n are unit distance of resultant vector from x, y and z axis respectively
Note: l2 + m2 + n2 = 1

1.4 Newtons Laws

Newton's first law: An object at rest will remain at rest unless acted on by an unbalanced force.
Or in other words, an object in motion continues in motion with the same speed and in the same
direction unless acted upon by an unbalanced force. This law is often called "the law of inertia".
Newton's second law: Acceleration is produced when a force acts on a mass. The greater the
mass (of the object being accelerated) the greater the amount of force needed (to accelerate the
object).
However, the Second Law gives us an exact relationship between force, mass, and acceleration.
It can be expressed as a mathematical equation:
Force mass acceleration
F m.a

Newton's third law: This law state that For every action there is an equal and opposite re-
action.

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Hand-out prepared by Dr.S.Sivasankaran
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Qassim Engineering College, GE-201
STATICS
This means that for every force there is a reaction force that is equal in size, but opposite in
direction. That is to say that whenever an object pushes another object it gets pushed back in the
opposite direction equally hard.
Example: The rocket's action is to push down on the ground with the force of its powerful
engines, and the reaction is that the ground pushes the rocket upwards with an equal force
1.5 Units
In mechanics we use four fundamental quantities called dimensions. These are length, mass,
force, and time

Note: In SI unit, Force = mass x acceleration

N = kg. m/s2
In U.S unit, Force (lb) = mass (slug) . acceleration (ft/sec2)
lb = slug . ft/sec2
Weight of body(W): The gravitational force acting on the body called weigh of the body.
weight (W) = mass (m) x acceleration due to gravity (g)
W mg
, the unit of weight is N or lb
In SI unit, g = 9.81 m/s2, In U.S unit, g = 32.2 ft/sec2
Unit conversions
Force (F)
I kgf = 9.81 N = 2.20 lbf
Therefore, 1 lbf = 4.5N
Mass (m)
I kg = 2.20 lbm
Therefore, 1 lbm = 0.454 kg
1 slug = 14.594 kg

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Hand-out prepared by Dr.S.Sivasankaran
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Qassim Engineering College, GE-201
STATICS
Length (L)
1 m = 3.28 ft
Therefore, 1 ft = 0.305 m
1.6 Newton's Law of Gravitation
It states that if any two objects exert a gravitational force of attraction on each other and the
direction of the force is along the line joining the objects, then the magnitude of the force is
proportional to the product of the gravitational masses of the objects, and inversely proportional
to the square of the distance between them.

m1 m2
F G
r2

where F = the mutual force of attraction between two particles

G = a universal constant known as the constant of gravitation (G = 6.673 x 10-11 m3/(kg.s2)

m1, m2 = the masses of the two particles

r = the distance between the centers of the particles

Small-Angle Approximations
When dealing with small angles, we can usually
make use of simplifying approximations

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Hand-out prepared by Dr.S.Sivasankaran
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Qassim Engineering College, GE-201
STATICS

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Hand-out prepared by Dr.S.Sivasankaran
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Qassim Engineering College, GE-201
STATICS

Fundamental Problems (FP)

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Hand-out prepared by Dr.S.Sivasankaran
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Qassim Engineering College, GE-201
STATICS
FP 1: If two forces represented by A = 5 i + 2 j - 3 k and B = 3 i - 2 j + 4 k are acting in the
same direction, calculate the resultant force vector, its magnitude, resultant unit vector force and
determine the angles made by resultant vector force

FP 2: If two forces A = 2 i - 3 k and B = - 2 i + 7 j + 4 k are acting in the direction opposite to

each other. Calculate the resultant force vector, its magnitude, resultant unit vector force and
determine the angles made by resultant vector force

Sample Problems (SP) from Text book

SP 1/1. Determine the weight in newtons of a car whose mass is 1400 kg. Convert the mass of
the car to slugs and then determine its weight in pounds

SP 1/2. Use Newtons law of universal gravitation to calculate the weight of a 70-kg person
standing on the surface of the earth. Then repeat the calculation by using W = mg and compare
your two results. Use Table D/2 as needed

V1 V2
SP 1/3. For the vectors and shown in the figure, (a) determine the magnitude S of their

S V1 V2 S S
vector sum , (b) determine the angle
between and the positive x-axis (c) write

i j n
as a vector in terms of the unit vectors and and then write a unit vector along the vector

S D V1 V2
sum , (d) determine the vector difference D

Exercise Problems (EP) from Text book

V 36i 15 j
EP 1/1 Determine the angles made by the vector with the positive x- and y-axes.

n V
Write the unit vector in the direction of

V V1 V2 V
EP 1/2 Determine the magnitude of the vector sum and the angle x which makes
with the positive x-axis. Complete both graphical and algebraic solutions (Figure 1/2).

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Hand-out prepared by Dr.S.Sivasankaran
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Qassim Engineering College, GE-201
STATICS

V1 V2
EP 1/3 For the given vectors and of Problem EP 1/2, determine the magnitude of the

V V1 V2 V
vector difference and the angle x which makes with the positive x-axis. Complete
both graphical and algebraic solutions.

F 160i 80 j 120k N
EP 1/4 A force is specified by the vector . Calculate the angles made

F
by with the positive x-, y-, and z-axes
EP 1/5 What is the mass in both slugs and kilograms of a 1000-lb beam?
EP 1/6 From the gravitational law calculate the weight W (gravitational force with respect to the
earth) of an 80-kg man in a spacecraft traveling in a circular orbit 250 km above the earths
surface. Express W in both newtons and pounds
EP 1/7 Determine the weight in newtons of a woman whose weight in pounds is 125. Also, find
her mass in slugs and in kilograms.
EP 1/9 Compute the magnitude F of the force which the sun exerts on the earth. Perform the
calculation first in newtons and then convert your result to pounds. Refer to Table D/2 for
necessary physical quantities

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Hand-out prepared by Dr.S.Sivasankaran