Equilibrium

Objectives:
1. distinguish the different types of forces;
2. explain the first condition for equilibrium;
3. explain the concept of torque.
 How is the concept of equilibrium
portrayed in the following pictures?
 Concurrent forces are forces whose line of
action all pass through a common point.

Common Point
 For Non-Concurrent Forces you get a rotation.
Equilibrium means that...

…there is no change
in the state of motion.
…there is no net force
acting on the object.
Forces
 Gravitational Force (or Weight)
• W = mg
 Tension
•T
 Friction Force
• f = msFN
Forces
 Normal Force
•N
 Applied Force
•F
 Types of Equilibrium
 Static equilibrium- An object is in “Static
Equilibrium” when it is NOT MOVING.
x
v =0
t
v
a 0
t

 Dynamic Equilibrium- when it is MOVING


with constant linear velocity and/or v
a 0
t
 rotating with constant angular velocity. 
 0
t
Problem Solution Method
 Isolate the object for discussion.
 Show the force acting on the isolated object
in a diagram (the free body diagram).
 Find the components of each force.
 Write the first condition for equilibrium in
equation form.
 Solve for the required quantities.
First Condition of Equilibrium

states that for a body to

be in equilibrium, the
vector sum of all the
forces acting on the body
must be zero.
 Sample Problem No. 1:
Refer to the following picture. Draw a free-
body diagram and solve for the tension in
the rope.

W=500N
 Sample Problem No. 2:

2. Jaiza hanged her picture frame

by means of a vertical string. Two
strings in turn support this string.
Each string makes 600 with an
overhead horizontal beam. Find
the tension in the strings. The
weight of the frame is 30N.
 T1 T2
600 600
T3
 Sample Problem No. 3:

2. Find the tensions in ropes A and

B for the arrangement shown:

A
B 400

C=200N
 Practice Set No. 1
1. A block of weight is suspended from a
rope tied to other rope at point O. One rope
is horizontally attached to a wall and the
other is fastened to the ceiling. The angle
between the ceiling and the rope is 600.
What are the tensions in each of the ropes?
Assume the weights of the ropes and the
knot are negligible. If the weight of the
block is 100N, what is the tension in the
ceiling rope?
 Practice Set No. 1:
First Condition of Equilibrium
2. A 30N lantern is suspended by a string that
is joined to two other strings as shown below:
What is the tension in
each of the two strings
if both make an equal
angles of 350 from the
support beam?
 Engineering Connection
Having an understanding of
equilibrium is critical for engineers and
scientists. Buildings, bridges, and other
structures remain standing because
engineers design them to meet
equilibrium conditions, in which all of
the forces acting on the structures are
balanced.
 Materials List
 Popsicle sticks, ~150
 hot glue gun and glue sticks
 foam-core board base, 6.5 x 6.5 inch (16.5 x
16.5 cm)
 washers, coins or similar small objects (to use
as weights)
 small paper cup (to hold weights)
 string (to hang cup from end of crane), ~1 ft
(~30 cm)
 Reflection
 What did you like best about this
activity? Explain in detail.
 What concepts and ideas did you learn?
 Would you want to do something similar
again? Explain why or why not.
 Give four or five examples where static
equilibrium exists in your everyday life.
From what you learned in this activity,
what are some of the roles of engineers?
Review:
Review:
Review:
Checking of Assignments…
 Force vs. Torque

Forces cause accelerations

Torques cause angular
accelerations
Force and torque are related
Torque, t, is the tendency of a
force to rotate an object about
some axis
t= r F
t is the torque
– symbol is the Greek letter tau
• F is the force
• r is the length of the position vector
SI unit is N.m
 What is torque?

Torque is like “twisting

force”
The more torque you apply to a
wheel the more quickly its rate
of spin changes.
Direction of Torque
 Multiple Torques

When two or more torques are

acting on an object, the torques are
added
– As vectors
If the net torque is zero, the
object’s rate of rotation doesn’t
change
 When the force is parallel to the position
vector, no rotation occurs
 When the force is at some angle, the
perpendicular component causes the rotation
 Torque and Equilibrium

The Second Condition

of Equilibrium states
–The net external torque
must be zero
 Equilibrium Example
 The woman, mass m,
sits on the left end of
the see-saw
 The man, mass M, sits
where the see-saw will
be balanced
 Apply the Second
Condition of
Equilibrium to solve
for the unknown
distance, x
 Axis of Rotation
 If the object is in equilibrium, it does not
matter where you put the axis of rotation for
calculating the net torque
– The location of the axis of rotation is completely
arbitrary
– Often the nature of the problem will suggest a
convenient location for the axis
– When solving a problem, you must specify an
axis of rotation
• Once you have chosen an axis, you must maintain that
choice consistently throughout the problem
 Center of Gravity
The force of gravity acting on an
object must be considered
In finding the torque produced by
the force of gravity, all of the
weight of the object can be
considered to be concentrated at a
single point
 Solving Equilibrium Problems
 Draw a diagram of the system
– Include coordinates and choose a rotation axis
 Isolate the object being analyzed and draw a
free body diagram showing all the external
forces acting on the object
– For systems containing more than one object,
draw a separate free body diagram for each
object
 Problem Solving, cont.
 Apply the Second Condition of Equilibrium
– This will yield a single equation, often with one
unknown which can be solved immediately
 Apply the First Condition of Equilibrium
– This will give you two more equations
 Solve the resulting simultaneous equations
for all of the unknowns
– Solving by substitution is generally easiest
Formula for Torque:

Torque = Fr
Torque = Fl
Second Condition of Equilibrium

The sum of all the

clockwise torques must be
equal to the sum of all the
counterclockwise torques.
Sample Problem No. 1:

Net Torque?

1
 Sample Problem No. 2:
A 50.0N seesaw supports two people
who weigh 455N and 525N
respectively. The fulcrum is under
the center of gravity of the board.
The 525N person is 1.50m from the
center. Where does the smaller
person sit so the seesaw is balanced?
 Sample Problem No. 3:

A car weighing 2000N on a

bridge is 6m from one end of
the bridge piers and 4m from
the other. How much force does
each pier of the bridge exert to
support the car?
 Practice Set No. 2:
Second Condition of Equilibrium
1. Determine force F and the reaction force
RA that satisfy the equilibrium equations
for the following beam:
 Practice Set No. 2:
Second Condition of Equilibrium
2.A 300N girl and a 400N boy
stand on a platform supported
by posts A and B as shown
below. The platform itself
weighs 200N. What are the
forces exerted by the supports
on the platform?
 Recall:
Concept of Torque in line
with the Second Condition of
Equilibrium
Direction of Torque
Signs to be used
Equations
WB = 5 N
 Practice Set No. 2:
Second Condition of Equilibrium
A 65 kg woman is
horizontal in a push up
position. What are the
vertical forces acting on
her hands and her feet?
 Practice Set No. 2:
Second Condition of Equilibrium
Vincent, (1490 N) stands at
the end of a diving board at
a distance of 1.5 m from the
point at which it is attached
to the tower. What is the
torque the man exerts on
the board?
 Practice Set No. 2:
Second Condition of Equilibrium
A uniform 150kg beam, 10.0m
long supports a 275 kg box of
glasses, 2.5 m from the right
support column. Calculate the
magnitude of the forces on the
beam exerted by each of the
vertical support columns.
 Practice Set No. 2:
Second Condition of Equilibrium
A 200 g mass is placed on a
meter stick 20 cm from the
fulcrum. A 170 g mass is used
to balance the system. How far
will it have to be located from
the fulcrum to keep the system
in balance?