Chapter 1

Learning Outcome
Learning Outcome
Upon completion of this chapter, student should be able to;

describe of time, mass, force, space, scalar, vector and Newton`s

law.
show how to perform unit conversions
know the method of problem solution in engineering of mechanics

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WHAT MAY HAPPEN IF STATICS IS NOT APPLIED
PROPERLY?

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 Chapter 1
Introduction
1.0 Introduction to Statics
Mechanics is the science which describes and predicts the conditions of
rest and motion of bodies under the action of forces.
Mechanics can be divided into 3 branches:

Mechanics

Mechanics of Mechanics of Mechanics of fluids

rigid bodies deformable bodies (Part 2: MEC 441)
(Part 4: MEC 442)

Statics Dynamics Compressible fluids Incompressible

(Part 1: MEC412) (Part 3: MEC420) (gases) fluids (liquids)

Mechanics of Materials
(Part 3: MEC 411)
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 Chapter 1
Introduction
What Can You Do with Statics Knowledge?
Calculate the force in each member of this structure (a truss) in order to
design it to withstand the loads that it will experience.

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 Chapter 1
Introduction
What Can You Do with Statics Knowledge?

Determine the forces that this prosthetic arm will need to withstand to
make exercise possible for the wearer.

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 Chapter 1
Introduction
What Can You Do with Statics Knowledge?

Design the joints and support of the Shuttle Remote Manipulator System
(SRMS) so that it can be used to pick up and support various payloads.

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 Chapter 1
Introduction
Statics deals with the equilibrium of bodies, that is those that are either
at rest or move with a constant velocity.
In statics we will assume the bodies to be perfectly rigid, no deformation.
This is never true in the real world, everything deforms a little when a load is
applied.
Dynamics is concerned with the accelerated motion of bodies and will
be dealt in the next semester.

1.1 Conceptual Idealizations used in Statics

Particle is a body of negligible dimension (no size or shape) but has a
mass.
Eg: Size of Earth insignificant compared to its size of orbit
All forces acting on a particle are considered to act through the same
concentric point
F1

F2 17
F3
 Chapter 1
Introduction

Rigid body is a body of combination of a large number of

particles and is considered rigid when the relative
movement between its parts are negligible.
A body which has mass and a size and which remains rigid
and unaltered under the action of forces. Forces acting on
a rigid body do not generally all act at the same point
Eg: Deformations in structures, machines and mechanism

F1

F2

F3
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 Chapter 1
Introduction
Space - the geometric region occupied by bodies whose
positions are described by linear and angular measurements
relative to a coordinate system.
y

z
Cartesian plane

1.2 Fundamental Quantities in SI System

Time - the measure of the succession of events
Common units of measure: second, minute, hour
Mass - Comparison of action of one body against another .
Measure of resistance of matter to a change in velocity
Common units of measure: kilogram, gram

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 Chapter 1
Introduction
Length Locate position and describe size of
physical system. Define distance and
geometric properties of a body
Common units of measure: meter, kilometer,
millimeter.
Force - the action of one body on another
body. A force tends to move a body in the
direction of its action.
push or pull exerted by one body on
another
Occur due to direct contact between bodies
Eg: Person pushing against the wall or a car.
Occur through a distance without direct
contact
Eg: Gravitational, electrical and magnetic
forces
Common SI units of measure: Newton
Forces can be classified as distributed force/load
and concentrated force/load.

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 Chapter 1
Introduction
A force system divided into four:
Concurrent forces;
Parallel forces;
Coplanar forces;
Collinear forces.
A force is a Vector quantity and
must have Magnitude, Direction
(line of action) and Point of action.

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 Chapter 1
Introduction
1.3 Newtons Three Laws of Motion
First Law
A particle originally at rest, or moving in a straight line with
constant velocity, will remain in this state provided that the particle
is not subjected to an unbalanced
force

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 Chapter 1
Introduction

Second Law
A particle acted upon by an
F = ma
unbalanced force F experiences
an acceleration a that has the
same direction as the force and
a magnitude that is directly
proportional to the
force

Third Law
The mutual forces of action and
reaction between two particles
are equal and, opposite and
collinear

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 Chapter 1
Introduction
1.4 Newtons Law of Gravitational Attraction
m1 m 2
F =G
where
r2
F = force of gravitation between two particles
G = universal constant of gravitation
m1,m2 = mass of each of the two particles
r = distance between the two particles
mM e
Weight, W =G 2
r
Letting g = GM e / r 2 yields

Then W = mg
g is dependent upon r. Most cases use g = 9.81 m/s
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 Chapter 1
Introduction
1.5 System of units
Base units are units of length, mass and time.
Length Mass Time
SI Units Meter (m) Kilogram (kg) Second (s
English Units Foot (ft) Slug (slug) Second (s)

Force: Newton (N)

1 N = (1 kg)(1 m/ s)
1 Newton is the force required to give a mass of
1 kg an acceleration of 1 m/ s.

Weight is a force. The weight of 1 kg Mass is:

W = mg
W = (1 kg)(9.81 m/ s)
W = 9.81 N

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 Chapter 1
Introduction
1.6 Prefixes
For a very large or very small numerical quantity, the 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)

Exponential form Prefix SI Symbol

Multiple
1 000 000 000 109 Giga G
1 000 000 106 Mega M
1 000 103 Kilo k
Sub-Multiple
0.001 10-3 Milli m
0.000 001 10-6 Micro
0.000 000 001 10-9 nano n
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 Chapter 1
Introduction

Example
Evaluate each of the following and express with SI units having an
approximate prefix: (a) (50 mN)(6 GN), (b) (400 mm)(0.6 MN)2

Solution
First convert to base units, perform indicated
operations and choose an appropriate prefix

(50mN )(6GN ) (400mm )(0.6MN )2

[ ( ) ][ ( ) ]
= 50 10 3 N 6 109 N
[ ( )m][0.6(10 )N ]
= 400 10 3 6 2

= 300(10 )N
= [400(10 )m][0.36(10 )N ]
6 2
3 12 2

= 300(10 )N
1kN 1kN
= 144(10 )m.N
6 2 9 2

3 3
10 N 10 N
= 300kN 2 = 144Gm.kN 2 27
 Chapter 1
Introduction
2.0 Method of problem solving
The solution of problems in Problem

mechanics can be
approached in a very Statement of problem
systematic manner:
state the given data
Free body diagram (FBD)
state the results desired
draw necessary diagrams
(free-body diagrams) Equation formulation
develop equations
solve the problem to obtain
solution Solution

check solution
CHECK UNITS!! Error checking
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 Chapter 1
Introduction
Problem Solving technique.
Ability to imagine/visualise
mechanism
Draw Free Body Diagram (FBD)
Applied Newtons Laws & others
related
Basic Math/Physic

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