TECHNICAL AND VOCATIONAL TRAINING

INSTITUTE
DEPARTMENT OF AUTOMOTIVE
TECHNOLOGY

ATec 2049 - Engineering Mechanics (Statics

and Dynamics)

Chapter 1: Basics of Statics

Introduction to Mechanics
Mechanics is the science which describes and predicts the
conditions of rest or motion of bodies under the action of forces.
Mechanics is an applied science - it is not an abstract or pure
science but does not have the empiricism found in other
engineering sciences.
Categories of Mechanics:
 Rigid bodies
• Statics
• Dynamics
 Deformable bodies mechanics
 Fluids mechanics

2
Introduction
Mechanics is the foundation of most engineering sciences
and is an indispensable prerequisite to their study.

3
Introduction…
 The engineering mechanics is mainly classified into two
branches

 Statics

 Dynamics
 Mechanics is the foundation of most engineering sciences and is
an indispensable prerequisite to their study.

4
Introduction (...)
The engineering mechanics is mainly classified into two
branches,
Statics
Dynamics
Statics: Statics deals with the forces on a body at rest
Dynamics: Dynamics deals with the forces acting on a body
when the body is in motion
Dynamics further subdivided into two sub branches
 Kinematics: Deals motion of a body without
considering the forces causing the motion
 Kinetics: Deals with the relation between the forces
acting on the body and the resulting motion
Importance of Mechanics to Engineering

 For designing and manufacturing of various

mechanical tools and equipment

 For calculation and estimation of forces of bodies while

they are in use

 For designing and construing to dams, roads, sheds,

structure, building etc.

 For designing and fabrication of rockets

1.2. Basic Concepts in Mechanics
 length (Space) - associated with the notion of the position of a
point P given in terms of three coordinates measured from a
reference point or origin.

 Time - definition of an event requires specification of the time

and position at which it occurred.

 Mass - used to characterize and compare bodies, e.g., response

to earth’s gravitational attraction and resistance to changes in
translational motion.
 Force - represents the action of one body on another. A force is
characterized by its point of application, magnitude, and
direction, i.e., a force is a vector quantity.

 In Newtonian Mechanics, space, time, and mass are absolute

concepts, independent of each other. Force, however, is not
independent of the other three. The force acting on a body is
related to the mass of the body and the variation of its velocity
with time.
The fundamental Principles of mechanics are,
1.Newtons three low of motion
 Newton’s First Law: According to Newton's First Law of
motion, an object remains in the same state of motion unless a
resultant force acts on it.
If the resultant force on an object is zero, this means: a stationary
object stays stationary. a moving object continues to move at the
same velocity (at the same speed and in the same direction.
 Newton’s Second Law: A particle will have an acceleration
proportional to a nonzero resultant applied force.

 Third Law: The forces of action and reaction between two

particles have the same magnitude and line of action with
opposite sense
2.Newtons low of gravitation
Newton’s law of universal gravitation states that every mass attracts
every other mass in the universe, and the gravitational force between
two bodies is proportional to the product of their masses and
inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them.
3.parallelogram low of force
If two forces acting at a point be represented in magnitude
and direction by the two adjacent sides of a parallelogram,
then their resultant is represented in magnitude and direction
by the diagonal of the parallelogram passing through that point
Self exercise
1. Find the magnitude of the resultant of the two concurrent forces
of magnitude 60 KN and 40 KN with an included angle of 70o
between them.
4.Principle of transmissibility
• It states that the external effect of a force on a rigid body is the
same for all points of application along its line of action. That is
it is independent of the point of application.

• If the value of the force with which the body is pulled or pushed
is the same. And both forces are applied in the same direction.
The resulting movement is exactly the same.
Systems of Units
A dimension is the measure by which a physical variable is
expressed quantitatively.
A unit is a particular way of attaching a number to the quantitative
dimension.
All physical quantities are given by a few fundamental quantities or
their combinations.
The units of such fundamental quantities are called base units,
combinations of them being called derived units.
Con…
Basic (fundamental) quantities are those that are defined in
accordance with a single standard.

15
Con…
Derived quantities are those obtained by multiplying or
dividing the basic quantities.

16
Method of Problem Solution
 Problem Statement:
Includes given data, specification of what is to be determined, and a
figure showing all quantities involved.
 Free-Body Diagrams:
Create separate diagrams for each of the bodies involved with a clear
indication of all forces acting on each body.
 Fundamental Principles:
The six fundamental principles are applied to express the conditions of
rest or motion of each body. The rules of algebra are applied to solve the
equations for the unknown quantities.
 Solution Check:
-Test for errors in reasoning by verifying that the units of the
computed results are correct,
- test for errors in computation by substituting given data and computed
results into previously unused equations based on the six principles,
- always apply experience and physical intuition to assess whether results
seem “reasonable”

17
1.3. Scalars and Vectors
For the purpose of comprehending and describing the world
around us, science and mathematics were invented. As a result,
in order to clearly explain the concepts in Physics, we use a lot
of mathematical quantities. Thus, force, speed, velocity, and
work are a few examples of these. Additionally, we frequently
refer to these quantities as scalar or vector quantities.
Scalar quantities are defined as physical quantities with
magnitude but no direction. Additionally, we can describe
physical quantities without directions simply by their numerical
value in the appropriate units. Additionally, the addition of
these physical quantities adheres to the straightforward
algebraic rules. You can therefore see that we simply add their
magnitudes. There are numerous examples of scalar quantities,
including mass, speed, distance, time, area, volume, density,
and temperature.
18
1.3. Scalars and Vectors (…)
A vector quantity is a physical quantity with directions in
addition to magnitude. There are numerous vector quantity
examples, some of which are as follows. Linear momentum,
acceleration, displacement, and momentum. Angular velocity,
force, electric field, and polarisation .
Representation of a vector
1. Algebraically
A bold face letter or a letter with an arrow over the head is used
to write vectors.
F or F⃗

Two vectors are equal if they have same magnitude and

direction.

19
1.3. Scalars and Vectors (…)
2. Graphically
A vector can be represented geometrically as a directed line segment with an
arrow indicating the direction and a length equal to the magnitude of the
vector. The vector's direction is from tail to head.

The differences between scalar and vector quantities are illustrated in the
tables below by using the same examples.

20
Resultant of Two Forces
• force: action of one body on another;
characterized by its point of application,
magnitude, line of action, and sense.

• Experimental evidence shows that the

combined effect of two forces may be
represented by a single resultant force.

• The resultant is equivalent to the diagonal of

a parallelogram which contains the two
forces in adjacent legs.

• Force is a vector quantity.

2 - 21
 :
Vector classifications
Zero Vectors: Vectors that have 0 magnitude are called zero vectors, denoted by 0→ = (0,0,0). The
zero vector has zero magnitudes and no direction. It is also called the additive identity of vectors.
Unit Vectors: Vectors that have magnitude equals to 1 are called unit vectors, denoted by a^. It is also
called the multiplicative identity of vectors. The length of unit vectors is 1. It is generally used to denote
the direction of a vector.
Orthogonal Vectors: Two or more vectors in space are said to be orthogonal if the angle between them
is 90 degrees. In other words, the dot product of orthogonal vectors is always 0.
Co-initial Vectors: Vectors that have the same initial point are called co-initial vectors.
- Fixed or bound vectors have well defined points of
application that cannot be changed without affecting
an analysis.
- Free vectors may be freely moved in space without
changing their effect on an analysis.
- Sliding vectors may be applied anywhere along their
line of action without affecting an analysis.

• Equal vectors have the same magnitude and direction.

• Negative vector of a given vector has the same magnitude
and the opposite direction.
2 - 22
1.4. Operation with Vectors
1.4.1. Vector Addition or Composition
Vectors adding can be done using graphical and mathematical methods.
These methods are as follows:
 Vector Addition Using the Components
 Triangle Law of Addition of Vectors
 Parallelogram Law of Addition of Vectors
When two or more vectors are combined, a new, single vector known as the
resultant is created. This new vector has the same effect as the original,
independent vectors acting alone.
The magnitude and direction of the resultant of two parallel vectors, which
are vectors acting in the same direction, are both the same as those of the
original two vectors.

23
1.4. Operation with Vectors
Vector Addition or Composition
The magnitude of the resultant of two antiparallel vectors, that
is, vectors acting in opposite directions, is equal to the
difference in magnitude of the vectors, and its direction is the
same as the direction of the larger vectors.
The magnitude of the resultant of two antiparallel vectors, that
is, vectors acting in opposite directions, is equal to the
difference in magnitude of the vectors, and its direction is the
same as the direction of the larger vectors.

24
 • Trapezoid rule for vector addition

• Triangle rule for vector addition

• Law of cosines,

• Law of sines,

• Vector addition is commutative,

   
PQ  Q P

• Vector subtraction

2 - 25
Resultant of Several Concurrent
• Concurrent forces: set of forces which all
Forces pass through the same point.

A set of concurrent forces applied to a

particle may be replaced by a single
resultant force which is the vector sum of the
applied forces.

• Vector force components: two or more force

vectors which, together, have the same effect
as a single force vector.

2 - 26
Sample Problem 1.1
SOLUTION:
• Graphical solution - construct a
parallelogram with sides in the same
direction as P and Q and lengths in
proportion. Graphically evaluate the
resultant which is equivalent in direction
and proportional in magnitude to the the
diagonal.
The two forces act on a bolt at
A. Determine their resultant. • Trigonometric solution - use the triangle
rule for vector addition in conjunction
with the law of cosines and law of sines
to find the resultant.

2 - 27
Sample Problem 1.1
• Graphical solution - A parallelogram with sides
equal to P and Q is drawn to scale. The
magnitude and direction of the resultant or of
the diagonal to the parallelogram are measured,
R  98 N   35

• Graphical solution - A triangle is drawn with P

and Q head-to-tail and to scale. The magnitude
and direction of the resultant or of the third side
of the triangle are measured,

R  98 N   35

2 - 28
Sample Problem 1.1
• Trigonometric solution - Apply the triangle rule.
From the Law of Cosines,
R 2  P 2  Q 2  2 PQ cos B
 40 N 2  60 N 2  240 N 60 N  cos 155
R  97.73N
From the Law of Sines,
sin A sin B

Q R
Q
sin A  sin B
R
60 N
 sin 155
97.73N
A  15.04
  20  A
  35.04
2 - 29
Rectangular Components of a Force:
Unit Vectors: The magnitude of Unit Vectors is one.
• May resolve a force vector into perpendicular
components so that the resulting parallelogram is a
rectangle. Fx and F y are referred to as rectangular
vector components and
  
F  Fx  Fy
 
• Define perpendicular unit vectors i and j which are
parallel to the x and y axes.

• Vector components may be expressed as products of

the unit vectors with the scalar magnitudes of the
vector components.
  
F  Fx i  Fy j

Fx and Fy are referred to as the scalar components of F

2 - 30
Addition of Forces by Summing
Components
• Wish to find the resultant of 3 or more
concurrent forces,
   
R  PQS

• Resolve each force into rectangular components

       
Rx i  R y j  Px i  Py j  Qx i  Q y j  S x i  S y j
  Px  Qx  S x i  Py  Q y  S y  j
 

• The scalar components of the resultant are equal

to the sum of the corresponding scalar
components of the given forces.
R x  Px  Qx  S x R y  Py  Q y  S y
  Fx   Fy
• To find the resultant magnitude and direction,
1 R y
R  Rx  R y
2 2
  tan
Rx
2 - 31
Sample Problem 1.2
SOLUTION:
• Resolve each force into rectangular
components.

• Determine the components of the

resultant by adding the corresponding
force components.

• Calculate the magnitude and direction

Four forces act on bolt A as shown. of the resultant.
Determine the resultant of the force
on the bolt.

2 - 32
Sample Problem 1.2

2 - 33
1.5 Vector Multiplication: Dot & Cross
Vectors are multiplied using two methods

1.scalar product of vectors or dot product

2.vector product of vectors or cross product

Dot Product

The dot product is one way of multiplying two or more vectors. The resultant of
the dot product of vectors is a scalar quantity. Thus, the dot product is also
known as a scalar product. Algebraically, it is the sum of the products of the
corresponding entries of two sequences of numbers. Geometrically, it is the
product of the Euclidean magnitude of two vectors and the cosine of the angle
between them. The dot product of vectors finds various applications in geometry,
mechanics, engineering, and astronomy.

34
 Vector Multiplication: Dot & Cross…
Scalar Product: using the components of the vectors

2D Vectors

3D Vectors

35
 Vector Multiplication: Dot & Cross…
Scalar Product: using the components of the vectors

Example for 2D Vectors

Example for 3D Vectors

36
Vector Multiplication: Dot & Cross…

37
 Vector Multiplication: Dot & Cross…
Self check Exercise
State whether the following pairs of vectors are perpendicular:

38
 Vector Multiplication: Dot & Cross…
Dot Product of vectors is equal to the product of the magnitudes of the two vectors, and
the cosine of the angle between the two vectors. The resultant of the dot product of two
vectors lie in the same plane of the two vectors. The dot product may be a positive real
number or a negative real number or a zero.

Let a and b be two non-zero vectors, and θ be the included angle of the vectors. Then
the scalar product or dot product is denoted by ,

which is defined as:

39
 Vector Multiplication: Dot & Cross…
Example 1:
Calculate the dot product of vectors a and b:

40
 Vector Multiplication: Dot & Cross…
Example 2:

Self check Exercise

Find the dot product of two vectors having magnitudes of 6 units and 7 units, and the
angle between the vectors is 60°

41
 Vector Multiplication: Dot & Cross…
Cross Product of Two Vectors
The Cross product of two vectors is the method of multiplication of two vectors.
A cross product is denoted by the multiplication sign(x) between two vectors. It
is a binary vector operation, defined in a three-dimensional system. The cross
product of two vectors is the third vector that is perpendicular to the two original
vectors. Its magnitude is given by the area of the parallelogram between them
and its direction can be determined by the right-hand thumb rule. The Cross
product of two vectors is also known as a vector product as the resultant of the
cross product of vectors is a vector quantity

If A and B are two independent vectors, then the result of the cross product of
these two vectors (Ax B) is perpendicular to both vectors and normal to the plane
that contains both the vectors. It is represented by:
42
 Vector Multiplication: Dot & Cross…
If A and B are two independent vectors, then the result of the cross product of
these two vectors (Ax B) is perpendicular to both the vectors and normal to the
plane that contains both the vectors. It is represented by:
A x B= |A| |B| sin θ
We can calculate the Cross Product using the following formula:

43
 Vector Multiplication: Dot & Cross…
Note:

Example: The cross product of a = (2,3,4) and b = (5,6,7)

Self check Exercise

Two vectors have their scalar magnitude as ∣a∣=2√3 and ∣b∣ = 4, while the angle between
the two vectors is 60∘.Calculate the cross product of two vectors.
44
Free-Body Diagrams

Space Diagram: A sketch showing Free-Body Diagram: A sketch showing

the physical conditions of the only the forces on the selected particle.
problem.

2 - 45
Equilibrium of a Particle
• When the resultant of all forces acting on a particle is zero, the particle is in
equilibrium.
• Newton’s First Law: If the resultant force on a particle is zero, the particle will
remain at rest or will continue at constant speed in a straight line.

• Particle acted upon by • Particle acted upon by three or more forces:

two forces: - graphical solution yields a closed polygon
- equal magnitude - algebraic solution
- same line of action  
R  F  0
- opposite sense
 Fx  0  Fy  0
2 - 46