INTRODUCTION TO MEC101 VECTOR ADDITION:

Module 1.1: A Lecture for Static of Rigid Bodies

Mr. Ramon P. Velasco  Parallelogram rule for vector addition
 Triangle rule for vector addition
MECHANICS:  Law of cosines,
 Mechanics is the science that describes and predicts the
conditions of rest or motion of bodies under the action of forces.
 It is the study of the relationship among forces and their effects  Law of sines
on bodies.

CATEGORIES OF MECHANICS:
 Vector addition is commutative,

• Addition of three or more vectors through repeated application of

the triangle rule.

PARTICLE does not indicate the “smallness of size” the shape and size of the
body do not significantly affect the solution of the problem under
consideration. rigid bodies (Statics and Dynamics)

REVIEW SYSTEMS OF UNITS:

 The polygon rule for the addition of three or more vectors.
 Vector addition is associative,

REVIEW FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES:

 Newton’s First Law: If the resultant force on a particle is zero, the
particle will remain at rest or continue to move in a straight line. FORCES
 Newton’s Second Law: A particle will have an acceleration  It is the action of one body on another body that tends to change
proportional to a nonzero resultant applied force. the state of motion of the latter body.
 Newton’s Third Law: The forces of action and reaction between
two particles have the same magnitude and line of action with INTERNATIONAL SYSTEM OF UNITS (SI):
opposite sense.  The basic units are length, time, and mass which are arbitrarily
SCALAR & VECTOR QUANTITIES: defined as the meter (m), second (s), and kilogram (kg).
 A scalar is a quantity that has magnitude only. It is a real number  Force is the derived unit,
that can be positive, negative, or zero. A scalar quantity includes
temperature, time, and speed.
 A vector is a quantity that has magnitude and direction. A vector
quantity includes force, velocity, and displacement. U.S. CUSTOMARY UNITS:
 The basic units are length, time, and force which are arbitrarily
VECTOR QUANTITIES: defined as the foot (ft), second (s), and pound (lb).
 A vector of a quantity is represented  Mass is the derived unit,
geometrically by drawing a line acting in F
m
the direction of the quantity, the length a
representing to some scale the 1lb
1slug 
magnitude of the quantity. 1ft s 2
 An arrowhead is placed on the line,
usually at the end, to denote the direction of the quantity. PROPERTIES OF A FORCE
1. Magnitude
INCLINED VECTOR COMPONENTS: 2. Line of action
1. Horizontal Components 3. Direction
2. Vertical Components
EFFECTS OF A FORCE 2. Acceleration of the body
Vx= Vcos Φ
Vy= V sin Φ

 The method of vector addition is based on the Parallelogram Law

which is one of the fundamental axioms of Mechanics.
1. Development of other forces 3. Deformation of the body
RECTANGULAR COMPONENTS OF A FORCE:
 For an Inclined Force

Fx is Vertical Components

Fy is Rectangular
Components

RESOLUTION OF FORCES Example2:

EXAMPLE 1: A barge is pulled by two tugboats. If the resultant of the forces exerted by
1. Determine the components of force P along the x and y axes. the tugboats is 5000 lbf directed along the axis of the barge, determine
 the tension in each of the ropes for a = 45o,
 the value of a for which the tension in rope 2 is a minimum.

EXAMPLE 2:
2. Determine the components of force T along the x and y axes.

3. The x component of the force is 175 N directed to the left as

shown. Find the other component of the force.
4. Find the components of the force F about
A. x-y axes
B. x prime- y prime axes
5. Find the parallel and perpendicular component of the force R as
acted on member BC.
RESOLUTION OF FORCES (3 or more Forces)
RESULTANT OF CONCURRENT FORCES

 Concurrent forces: a set of forces

that all 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.

SOLUTION:
1. Graphical solution: construct a parallelogram with sides in the same
direction as P and Q and lengths in proportion. Graphically evaluate the
results which are equivalent in direction and proportional in magnitude to
the diagonal.
2. Trigonometric solution: use the triangle rule for vector addition in
conjunction with the law of cosines and the law of sines to find the resultant.
(Two forces)
3. Three or more forces. Use Components Method EXAMPLE 3:
SOLUTION:
Example 1:  Resolve each force into rectangular components.
 The two forces act on a bolt at A. Determine their resultant.  Determine the components of the resultant by adding the
corresponding force components.
 Calculate the magnitude and direction of the resultant.

VECTORS

Four forces act on bolt A as shown. Determine the resultant of the force on
the bolt.
Example4:
A pack of five Artic wolves is exerting five different forces upon the carcass of
a 500-kg dead polar bear. A top view showing the magnitude and direction of
each of the five individual forces is shown in the diagram

Graphical Method:

Forces in 2D
Example 1: Determine the resultant of the three forces.

Answer: