Engineering Mechanics:

Statics in SI Units, 12e

1

General Principles

Chapter Outline
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Mechanics
Fundamental Concepts
Units of Measurement
The International System of Units
Numerical Calculations

1.1 Mechanics
Mechanics can be divided into 3 branches:
- Rigid-body Mechanics
- Deformable-body Mechanics
- Fluid Mechanics
Rigid-body Mechanics deals with
- Statics
- Dynamics

1.1 Mechanics
Statics Equilibrium of bodies
At rest
Move with constant velocity
Dynamics Accelerated motion of bodies

1.2 Fundamentals Concepts

Basic Quantities
1. Length
- locate the position of a point in space
2. Mass
- measure of a quantity of matter
3. Time
- succession of events
4. Force
- a push or pull exerted by one body on another

1.2 Fundamentals Concepts

Idealizations
1. Particles
- has a mass and size can be neglected
2. Rigid Body
- a combination of a large number of particles
3. Concentrated Force
- the effect of a loading

1.3 Units of Measurement

SI Units

Stands for Systme International dUnits (French)

SI system specifies length in meters (m), time in
seconds (s) and mass in kilograms (kg)
Force unit, Newton (N), is derived from F = ma

1.3 Units of Measurement

Name

Length

Time

Mass

Force

International
Systems of Units
(SI)

Meter (m) Second (s) Kilogram (kg) Newton (N)

kg.m
2
s

1.3 Units of Measurement

At the standard location,

g = 9.806 65 m/s2
For calculations, we use
g = 9.81 m/s2
Thus,

W = mg (g = 9.81m/s2)

Hence, a body of mass 1 kg has a weight of 9.81 N, a

2 kg body weighs 19.62 N

1.4 The International System of Units

Prefixes

For a very large or small numerical quantity, units can

be modified by using a prefix

Each represent a multiple or sub-multiple of a unit

Eg: 4,000,000 N = 4000 kN (kilo-newton)
= 4 MN (mega- newton)
0.005m = 5 mm (milli-meter)

1.4 The International System of Units

1.5 Numerical Calculations

Dimensional Homogeneity

Each term must be expressed in the same units

Regardless of how the equation is evaluated, it
maintains its dimensional homogeneity
All terms can be replaced by a consistent set of units

1.5 Numerical Calculations

Significant Figures

Accuracy of a number is specified by the number of

significant figures it contains
A significant figure is any digit including zero
e.g. 5604 and 34.52 have four significant numbers
When numbers begin or end with zero, we make use
of prefixes to clarify the number of significant figures
e.g. 400 as one significant figure would be 0.4(10 3)

1.5 Numerical Calculations

Rounding Off Numbers

Accuracy obtained would never be better than the

accuracy of the problem data
Calculators or computers involve more figures in the
answer than the number of significant figures in the
data
Calculated results should always be rounded off to
an appropriate number of significant figures

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1.5 Numerical Calculations

Calculations

Retain a greater number of digits for accuracy

Work out computations so that numbers that are
approximately equal
Round off final answers to three significant figures

Copyright 2010 Pearson Education South Asia Pte Ltd

Example
Convert to 2 km/h to m/s.
Solution

2 km 1000 m
2 km/h

h km

1h

0.556 m/s
3600 s

Remember to round off the final answer to three significant figures.

Copyright 2010 Pearson Education South Asia Pte Ltd

QUIZ
1. The subject of mechanics deals with what happens to
a body when ______ is / are applied to it.
A) magnetic field
B) heat
C) forces
D) neutrons
E) lasers

Copyright 2010 Pearson Education South Asia Pte Ltd

QUIZ
2. For a statics problem your calculations show the final
answer as 12345.6 N. What will you write as your final
answer?
A) 12345.6 N
B) 12.3456 kN
C) 12 kN
D) 12.3 kN
E) 123 kN

Copyright 2010 Pearson Education South Asia Pte Ltd