CHAPTER-1

Primary Factors of Engineering Mechanics

1.1ENGINEERING MECHANICS
Engineering Mechanics is that branch of science, which deals the action of the
forces on the rigid bodies. Everywhere we feel the application of Mechanics, such as
in railway station, where we seen the railway bridge, A car moving on the road, or
simply we are running on the road. Everywhere we saw the application of
mechanics.
1.2 BASICS OF MECHANICS
SCIENCE, ENGINEERING AND MECHANICS
Science is nothing but gaining knowledge through appropriate laws and results
from experiments.
Engineering is the application of results obtained through experiments, laws and
principles for obtaining desired phenomenon.
Mechanics is the science which deals with the behavior of bodies at rest or in
motion under the action of external forces.
1.3 WHY DO WE STUDY MECHANICS?
For each and every engineer, the knowledge of mechanics is most important
because of the following reasons.
1. Design of mechanisms and simple machinery used in day to day life requires the
knowledge of mechanics, in fact; it is the most fundamental subject in
engineering.
2. Mechanics plays a basic part, in physics and astronomy, contributing to our
knowledge of the working of nature.
3. With the knowledge of mechanics, any person can solve any problem by
applying his knowledge with fair idea of the logical structure.
1.4 HISTORY OF MECHANICS-Mechanics is the oldest branch of physical science.
The following table gives a brief history of derived concepts in the field of
mechanics.
SCIENTIST

YEAR

CONCEPTS DERIVED

Archimedes

287-212B.C

Principle of Buoyancy

Stevinus

1548-1620

Laws of vector combination of

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forces
Galileo

1564-1642

Experiments with falling stone

Newton

1642-1727

Laws of motion

Guillaume
Amonton Einstein

1699
1878-1955

Empirical laws of friction

Relativity theory

1.5 IMPORTANT APPLICATION OF ENGINEERING MECHANICS

Some of the important applications of engineering mechanics are as follows.
1. Working principle of engines.
2. External forces acting on a ship or boat in water.
3. Study of missiles, aero planes etc.
4. The forces developed in trusses and frames to resist the wing load and other
external forces.
1.6 LAWS OF MECHANICS The following laws are considered to be the foundations
of mechanics;
1. Newton first law of motion (OR) Law of inertia.
2. Newton second law of motion (OR) Law of force.
3. Newton third law of motion (OR) Law of reaction.
4. Law of universal gravitation.
5. Parallelogram law of forces.
6. Law of transmissibility of forces.
Matter is anything that occupies space, possesses mass offers resistance to any
stress, example Iron, stone, air, Water.
Particle, A body of negligible dimension is called a particle. But a particle has
mass. A body consists of a No. of particle, it has definite shape.
A rigid body may be defined as the combination of a large no. of particles, which
occupy fixed position with respect to another, both before and after applying a load.
Or, a rigid body may be defined as a body, which can retain its shape and size even
if subjected to some external forces. In actual practice, nobody is perfectly rigid.
But for the sake of simplicity, we take the bodies as rigid bodies.
An elastic body is that which regain its original shape after removal of the external
loads.
The basic difference between a rigid body and an elastic body is that the rigid body
doesnt change its shape and size before and after application of a force, while an

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elastic body may change its shape and size after application of a load, and again
regain its shape after removal of the external loads.
Space: The geometric region occupied by bodies called space.
Motion when a body changes its position with respect to other bodies, then body is
called as to be in motion.
Mass: The properties of matter by which the action of one body can be compared
with that of another are defined as mass.
Where,

= Density of body and v = Volume of the body

Weight of a body is the force with which the body is attracted towards the center of
the earth.
S.I. Units S.I. stands for System International Units. There are three basic
quantities in S.I. Systems as concerned to engineering Mechanics as given below:
Sl.No.

Quantity

Basic Unit

Notation

Length

Meter

Mass

Kilogram

kg

Time

Second

Meter: It is the distance between two given parallel lines engraved upon the
polished surface of a platinum-Iridium bar, kept at 0 0C at the International Bureau
of Weights and Measures at Serves, near Paris.
Kilogram: It is the mass of a particular cylinder made of Platinum Iridium kept at
International Bureau of Weights and Measures at Serves, near Paris.
Second: It is 1/ (24 60 60) Th of the mean solar day. A solar day is defined as the
time interval between the instants at which the sun crosses the meridian on two
consecutive days. With the help of these three basic units there are several units
are derived as given below.
1.7 NEWTON'S LAW OF MOTION
1-Newton: It is magnitude of force, which develops an acceleration of 1 m/s 2 in 1
kg mass of the body.
The entire subject of rigid body mechanics is based on three fundamental law of
motion given by an American scientist Newton.

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Newtons first law of motion: A particle remains at rest (if originally at rest) or
continues to move in a straight line (If originally in motion) with a constant speed. If
the resultant force acting on it is Zero.
Newton's second law of motion: If the resultant force acting on a particle is not
zero, then acceleration of the particle will be proportional to the resultant force and
will be in the direction of this force i.e;
Newton's s third law of motion: The force of action and reaction between
interacting bodies are equal in magnitude, opposite in direction and have the same
line of action.
1.8 BRANCHES OF MECHANICS
Mechanics is mainly divided in to two parts
Static's and Dynamics, Dynamics further
divided in kinematics and kinetics.
Statics: It deals with the study of behavior of
a body at rest under the action of various
forces, which are in equilibrium.
Dynamics: Dynamics is concerned with the study of object in motion
Kinematics: It deals with motion of the body without considering the forces acting
on it.
Kinetics: It deals with the motion of the body considering the forces acting on it.
Force: The force is the agency, which change or tends to change the state of rest or
motion of a body. It is a vector quantity.
Characteristics of a force, it is completely defined only when the following four
characteristics are specified- Magnitude, Point of application, Line of action and
Direction or The action of one body on another body is defined as force.
In engineering mechanics, applied forces are broadly divided in to two types; Tensile
and compressive force.
1.9 FORCE SYSTEM
Single force is of two types i.e.; Tensile and
compressive. Generally in a body several
forces are acting. When several forces of
different magnitude and direction act upon
a rigid body, then they are form a System
of Forces, These are;

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Coplanar Force System: The forces, whose lines of action lie on the same plane,
are known as coplanar forces.
Non-Coplanar Force System: The forces, whose lines of action not lie on the same
plane, are known as non-coplanar force system.
Concurrent Forces: All such forces, which act at one point, are known as
concurrent forces.
Coplanar-Concurrent System: All such forces whose line of action lies in one
plane and they meet at one point are known as coplanar-concurrent force system.
Coplanar-Parallel Force System: If lines of action of all the forces are parallel to
each other and they lie in the same plane then the system is called as coplanarparallel forces system.
Coplanar-Collinear Force System: All such forces whose line of action lies in one
plane also lie along a single line then it is called as coplanar-collinear force system.
Non-concurrent Coplanar Forces System:
All such forces whose line of action lies in one
plane but they do not meet at one point, are
known as non-concurrent coplanar force
system.
1.10 RESOLUTION
PROJECTIONS

(OR)

METHOD

OF

This analytical method is used to determine

the resultant of number of forces. In this
method, by determining the horizontal
components and vertical components of all forces and by adding the forces, the
resultant force is calculated.
Table (i) gives an easy approach to find the resultant force.
TABLE (i) : COMPONENTS OF FORCES

FORCE

FORCE IN
QUADRANT

ANGLE
WITH
HORIZONTA
L

X-COMPONENT

YCOMPONENT

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By the nature of

the quadrant of the resultant force can be decided as

shown in Table (ii)

Table (ii): POSITION OF RESULTANT FORCE

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NATURE

RESULTANT R LIES IN THE

QUARDANT

Magnitude of the resultant,

Angle of the resultant with horizontal,

1.11 RESOLUTION OF FORCE
Resolution of a force is the process of splitting up the
given force into number of components. It is a process
of finding the components of the force along the two
rectangular axes X and Y.
It is the opposite process of composition of forces.
In figure the force F makes an angle

with X-axis.

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While deciding the sign of the components, the arrow head of the force should be
considered.
ARROW HEAD
HORIZONTAL

NATURE

VERTICAL

1.12 RESOLUTION OF A FORCE INTO A FORCE AND A COUPLE

Let us consider the force F is acting at a distanced from the origin A.
This force system is unaltered; if we apply the same force F at A in both upward
and downward directions as shown in figure (b). Now the downward force F at A
and the upward force F at B can be converted into a couple F.d at A as shown in

figure (c). Hence a single force has been converted into a force and a couple.
1.13 SCALAR AND VECTOR QUANTITIES
All physical quantities can be classified in to two broad categories.
Scalar Quantities and Vector Quantities;
SCALAR QUANTITIES

VECTOR QUANTITIES

A quantity is said to be scalar if it is

specified by magnitude only.

A quantity is said to be vector if it is

specified by magnitude and direction.

Scalars can be added or subtracted

arithmetically

Vectors cannot be added arithmetically.

Examples;
Length,
mass,
time,
distance,
area,
volume,
density,
temperature, speed, work, energy etc

Example; Force, displacement, velocity,

acceleration,
moment,
momentum,
impact etc.

1.14 REPRESENTATION OF A VECTOR

A vector is represented by a top line with arrow over the name of quantity.

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A vector has the following characteristics.
1. An origin (or) point of application.
2. A direction.
3. A magnitude.
In figure, the vector is represented by

. The

length AB represents the magnitude and the

arrow mark represents the direction of vector AB.
It is from A (Starting point) to B (ending point). It is also known as vector P.
Thus a vector is defined as a directed line segment in space representing some
physical quantity both in magnitude and direction.
1.15 TYPES OF VECTOR
TYPES OF VECTOR
1. Unit Vector

2. Equal Vector

3. Like Vector

REPRESENTATION

CHARACTERISTICS
Unit magnitude
Equal magnitude, same direction
and parallel to each other.
Unequal
direction

magnitude,
same
and parallel to each

other.
4. Sliding Vector
(Transmissible
Vector)
5. Free Vector

6. Fixed Vector (Or)

Bound Vector

It can be moved anywhere but

should maintain same direction
and magnitude.
The action of free vector is not
confined to a unique line in space.
The
vector
may
be
moved
anywhere in the space without
rotation.
Must remain at the same point of
application.
To maintain the equilibrium a
reaction

will be developed at

the other end.

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It is obtained when a vector is

7. Zero Vector (Or)

Null Vector

subtracted from itself.

1.16 VECTOR OPERATIONS

1.16. a. ADDITION AND SUBTRATION OF TWO PARALLEL VECTORS
The vectors which are parallel to each other or along the same straight line are
simple to add or subtract. The following figure
illustrates the addition and subtraction of the two
vectors.
Thus, the resultant of the vectors, which are parallel
to each other and are in the same direction, is
obtained by adding or subtracting their lengths as
shown below.
In case of subtraction, the direction of the resultant
vector is in the direction of the bigger vector.
Let us consider two vectors

originating from

point O. Construct a parallelogram OADB for these vectors a shown in figure. The
diagonal of the parallelogram

represents the vectors

the two vectors

1.16. b. SUBTRACTION OF TWO INCLINED VECTORS
To obtain the vectors

Let us draw a vector

i.e.; drawing a line in the opposite direction of

B and of the same magnitude

by completing

the parallelogram O x A x DB for the vectors

the diagonal line OD represents the vector subtraction

OR
1.16. c. VECTOR MULTIPLICATION
i. MULTIPLICATION OF A VECTOR BY A SCALER

which is the addition of

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If a vector

is multiplied by a scalar a, then the resultant vector is equal to

. The

direction of the resultant is the same as that of the vector

ii.

DIVISION OF VECTOR BY A SCALAR

For a vector to be divided by a scalar quantity, simply multiply the vector by the
reciprocal of the scalar

1.16. d. DOT (OR) SCALAR PRODUCT

The dot (or) scalar product of two vectors is defined as the product of the magnitude
of the given two vectors and cosine of the angle in between them.
Let the given vectors be

The dot product is given by

&
Now

NOTE: The dot product of two vectors will give only scalar value.
1.16. e. CROSS (OR) VECTOR PRODUCT The cross (or) vector product of two
vectors is defined as the product of the magnitude of the given two vectors and sine
of the angle in between them. The result of the cross product of two vectors is
another vector.
i,e;
The direction of

is perpendicular to

given by right handed screw rule.

Towards

gives

in upward direction

i.e.:

Towards

gives

in upward direction

i.e.:

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Hence,
Let us consider two vectors
&
The cross product of two vectors

Since

Another method to evaluate the cross product is using matrix determinant.

1.17 FORCES IN SPACE

RECTANGULAR COMPONENTS OF A FORCE IN SPACE
The force F is represented by the diagonal OA in figure.
Let,

FORCE COMPONENTS,
In x-direction
In y-direction
In z-direction
The three angles

define the direction of the force F. The cosines of

are known as direction cosines of the force F.

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By introducing the unit vectors

directed respectively along the axes x, y, z the

force F may be expressed in the form of

Substituting the scalar components

in equation (ii)

The above equation shows that the force

may be expressed as product of the

scalar F and of the vector.

Let us consider unit vector along the line of action of F.
The magnitude of

is equal to 1.
By substituting (iv) into (iii)

Where

When the components

of force are given the magnitude F of the force is

obtained from (ii) and (v) by equating the component of I, j, k

1.18 POSITION VECTOR

The position vector of a point A with respect to origin O is the vector
represented by . The position vector

of a point (x, y, z) in space is written as

, It is

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The magnitude of the position vector

1.19 FORCE PASSING THROUGH TWO POINTS
&

Unit Vector

By equating the components of i, j and k

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1.20 FORCE ACTING FROM THE ORIGIN
The force

starts from the origin.

Unit Vector

And hence,
1.21 ADDITION OF CONCURRENT FORCES IN SPACE
The resultant R of a concurrent force system in space is determined by summing
their rectangular components.

By equating the components of I, j, k.

,

The magnitude of Resultant,

The angle it forms with the axes of co-ordinate

1.22 MOMENT OF A FORCE ABOUT A POINT

The moment of a force about a point is the cross-product of
i.e;
We know that,

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And
Putting the value in above equation (i)

1.23 PRINCIPLE OF TRANSMISSIBILITY OF FORCES

It state that if a force acting at a point on a rigid body, it may be considered to act
at any other point on its line of action, provided this point is rigidly connected with
the body. The external effect of the force on the body remains unchanged. The
problems based on concurrent force system are solved by application of this
principle.
OR :
If we shift the force (forward & backward) on same line of action on a body, then the
effect of force on the body remain unaltered such law is known as principle of
transmissibility of forces. (see figure for case-1 & case-2)

LIMITATION OF PRINCIPLE OF TRANSMISSIBILITY OF FORCES

It is used to determine only the external forces but not the internal forces in a body.
1.24 RESULTANT OF A FORCE SYSTEM
Resultant is a single force which produces the same effect as produced by number
of forces jointly in a system.

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There are many ways to find out the resultant of the force system. But the first
thing is to see that how many forces are acting on the body?
1.24-a. CASE-1: When only one force is acting on the body.
Then that force will be equal to the Resultant.
And direction of Resultant will occur in the
direction of applied force.
1.24-b. CASE-2: When only two forces are
acting on the rigid body (PARALLELOGRAM
LAW OF FORCES)
It state that If two forces acting simultaneously on a particle, be represented in
magnitude and direction by two adjacent sides of a parallelogram then their
resultant may be represented in magnitude
and direction by the diagonal of the
parallelogram, which passes through their
point of intersection.
For the given case (case-2) we will use to find
out the Resultant by Parallelogram law of
forces (Analytical method) and by triangle law
of forces (Graphical method).
This law is used to determine the resultant of
two forces acting at a point of a rigid body in a
plane and is inclined to each other at an angle
of .
Let two forces P and Q act at a point O as shown in figure. The force P is
represented in magnitude and direction by vector OA, Where as the force Q is
represented in magnitude and direction by Vector OB, Angle between two force is .
The resultant is denoted by vector OC in figure. Drop perpendicular from C on OA.
Let,

Now

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:
Resultant R is max when the two forces collinear and in the same direction.

Resultant R is min when the two forces collinear but acting in opposite
direction.

HINT TO SOLVE THE PROBLEM:

If there is given Resultant word in question then do not use

If there is given Resultant word in question then think always & immediate that
how many forces are given in the question. If according to question there are
TWO FORCES then use the PARALLELOGRAM LAW OF FORCES and

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For MORE THAN TWO FORCES we will use RESOLUTION OF FORCES.

If there is an indication in question about the direction of resultant, then use

the equation of

immediately.

If there is an indication in question about the magnitude of resultant, then use

the equation of

, where is angle between two forces P

& Q.
Example-1.1: The Resultant of two forces, one of which is half the other, is 350N. If
the direction of smaller force is reversed and other remains unaltered, the resultant
gets the value of 210N. Find the magnitude of two forces and also angle between
them.
SOLUTION: As there are two forces and in question resultant is asking, then we
will use the parallelogram law of forces. Let the angle between two forces
,&

From the Law of Parallelogram,

FOR THE CASE-1

.. (i)
FOR THE CASE-2

.. (ii)
Adding (i) & (ii), we get

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Example-1.2: Two forces equal to 2P and P act on a particle. If the first force be
doubled and the second force is increased by 12KN, the direction of their resultant
remain unaltered. Find the value of P.
SOLUTION: In both cases direction of resultant remain unchanged, so we used the
formula,

Example-1.3: Find the horizontal force & the force inclined to 60 0 with the vertical,
if the direction of resultant is vertical force & having the magnitude equal to
amount of 10N.
SOLUTION: According to the question, First of all try to make out the figure.
As there are two unknowns,
Then we need at least two equations.

Now using the relation,

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Now using the relation

&
Example-1.4: Find the magnitude of two forces such that if they act at right angle
their resultant is

, while they act at an angle of 600, their resultant is

SOLUTION: Let the two forces be P and Q, and their resultant be R

Since

Example-1.5: Combine the two forces p and T, which act on the fixed structure at
B, into a single equivalent force R.
Graphical solution

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The parallelogram for the vector addition of forces T
and P is constructed as shown in Figure. The
approximate scale used Here is 1cm=400N; a scale
of 1cm = 100 N would be more Suitable for regularsize paper and would give greater accuracy.
Note that the angle must be determined prior to
construction of the parallelogram. From the given
figure

Measurement of the length R and direction of the resultant force R yield the
approximate results
Geometric solution
The triangle for the vector addition of T and P is
shown in Fig, b.
The angle is calculated as above. The law of cosines
gives

From the law sines, we may determine the angle which orients R.
Thus,
Algebraic solution
By using the x-y coordinate system on the given figure,
we may write

The magnitude and direction of the resultant force R as shown in Fig, c are then

Primary Factors of Engineering Mechanics/23

UNSOLVED EXERCISE: 1.1
Q.1: The screw eye is subjected to two forces F 1=100N and F2=150N as shown in
figure. Determine the magnitude and Direction of the
resultant force.
Q.2: The two structural members one in tension and
other in compression, exerts on point O, determine
the resultant and angle .
1.24-c. CASE-3: When more than two forces are
acting on the rigid body (RESOLUTION OF A FORCE)
For the above case (case-3) we will use to find out the Resolution of forces
When a force is resolved into two parts along two mutually perpendicular
directions, without changing its effect on the body, the parts along those directions
are called resolved parts. And process is called resolution of a force.

Horizontal Component

Horizontal Component
SIGN CONVENTION:

Vertical Component

Vertical Component

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Take
Upward forces as positive, downward force as negative, leftward force as negative
and rightward force as positive.
1.25 EVALUATION OF RESULTANT

The steps are as;

1. Count Total No. of forces acting on the body (if more than two forces then start
resolution)
2. First resolved all the forces in horizontal and vertical direction.
3. Take upward forces as positive, down force as negative, leftward force as
negative and rightward force as positive,
4. Take sum of all horizontal parts i.e.,
5. Take sum of all vertical parts i.e.,
6. Find the resultant of the force system using,
7.
8. Find angle of resultant by using
9. Take care about sign of

and

Example-1.6: Find the Resultant & his direction for the given figure (A hook is
inserted in to the wall).
SOLUTION: As there are more than two
forces, then we will use Resolution of forces
along X-Axis & along Y-Axis.

Primary Factors of Engineering Mechanics/25

Now,
OR
Similarly

OR
As

are making an angle

Example-1.7: Find the Resultant & his direction for the given figure.
SOLUTION: As there are more than two forces, then we will use resolution of forces
along X-Axis & along Y-Axis. Now,

Similarly,

As

are making an angle

Example-1.8: Determine the Resultant of four forces acting at a point. See the
figure.
SOLUTION:
Here 2.24KN makes an angle
of

with horizontal.

with horizontal. Also 3.9KN makes an angle

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Let the resultant R makes an angle
axis,

with x-axis. Resolving all the forces along x-

we

get,

Similarly resolving all the forces along y-axis, we get

Angle with horizontal,

Example-1.9: The forces 20N, 30N, 40N, 50N and 60N are acting on one of the
angular points of a regular hexagon, towards the other
five angular points, taken in order. Find the magnitude
and direction of the resultant force.
SOLUTION: In regular hexagon each angle is equal to
120, and if each angular point is joint together, then
each section makes an angle of 30.
First resolved all the forces in vertical and horizontal
directions Let

Primary Factors of Engineering Mechanics/27

t
Example-1.10: Four forces of magnitude P, 2P, 5P and 4P are acting at a point.
Angles made by these forces with x-axis are 0, 75, 150 and 225 respectively.
Find the magnitude and direction of resultant force.
SOLUTION: first resolved all the forces in horizontal and vertical direction

Example-1.11: Three wires exert the tensions indicated on the ring in figure.
Assuming a concurrent system, determine the force in a single wire will replace
three wires.
SOLUTION: Single force, which replaces all
other forces, is always the resultant of the
system, so first resolved all the forces in
horizontal and vertical direction

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UNSOLVED EXERCISE: 1.2
Q.1: Find the x and y components of each force and determine the resultant and
direction.

Q.2: Find the x and y components of each force and determine the resultant and
direction.
Q.3: Find the x and y components of each force and determine the resultant and
direction.
Q.4: Find the x and y components of each force and determine the resultant and
direction.

1.26 IF THE RESULTANT OF ALL THE FORCES IS IN X-DIRECTION THEN

Example-1.12: A body is subjected to the three

forces as shown in figure. If possible, determine the
direction

of the force F so that the resultant is in X-

direction when:
Case-1: F = 5000N; Case-2: F = 3000N.

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SOLUTION: Let the force F making an angle with the vertical. Now as the
resultant of all forces (3000N, 2000N & F) is in X-direction then

Now Case-1: if F=5000N,

ANS
Now Case-2: if F=3000N,

ANS
UNSOLVED EXERCISE-1.3
Q.1: The boat is to be pulled onto the shore using two ropes, determine the
magnitude of two forces T and P acting in each rope in order to develop a resultant
force of 80 N in direction along the keel as shown in
figure. Take = 40o.Ans: 42.567 N & 54.723 N
1.27 IF THE RESULTANT OF ALL THE FORCES
IS IN Y-DIRECTION THEN
Example-1.13: An electric pole of height 15m
grounded at point B & at the top a wire AC is
attached. The bottom distance of point C and point B is as 10m as shown in
figure. Find the tension in wire AC if resultant of all the forces is in Y-direction.

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SOLUTION:

Let the tension in wire is T acting along the wire.

As the resultant of all three forces are acting along the Y-direction,
Hence

, where

Now

1.28 MOMENT
As the Forces have four characteristics
direction, point of application & line of action.

magnitude,

Similarly FORCE has one TENDENCY KNOWN AS MOMENT.

The tendency of a Force to rotate the body either in clockwise direction or in anticlockwise direction about any particular point is known as Moment
It means ki force agar Kisi body pe lagta hai to wo force us
body ko ghuma dega ya phir ghumane ki koshish karega,
force ki body ko rotate kerane ki aadat ko hi moment kahte
hai.

Or
Moment need the force & it taken about any particular point
1.29 GRAPHICAL REPRESENTATION OF MOMENT
In figure (a), force F is acting at a distance d from A.
In figure (b), the force F is represented in magnitude and direction by the line PQ.
[A is the point about which the moment of force.

Primary Factors of Engineering Mechanics/31

F is to be determined and d is the perpendicular distance between the force F and
A. It is represented by AR.]

Thus, the moment of a force about any point is equal to twice the area of the
triangle.
1.30 DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE EFFECT OF FORCE AND MOMENT
The force applying on body will cause linear displacement while the moment will
cause angular displacement.
If any force is acting on the body, to find the moment M, increase the line of action
in forward & backward direction, now draw the perpendicular form the point
O(about which we have to measure the moment) on that line of action & measure
this distance then multiply it with the amount of force. Such that

NOTE: The moment of a force can be obtained by using the following options;
1. By finding the perpendicular distance and then using the
2. By resolving the given force into rectangular components at the given position
and then adding the moments due to the two components.
3. By resolving the force on X-axis where the line of action intersects the X-axis.
4. By resolving the force on Y-axis where the line of action intersects the Y-axis.
5. By using the vector equation

Example: Determine the moment of 150N force as

shown in figure about point O.

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CASE-1: To find the perpendicular distance, draw the perpendicular distance from
O on the line of action of force as shown in figure (a).

CASE-2: The components of force are as shown in figure (b).

CASE-3:

When

the force is resolved on X-axis, the moment produced by the x-component about O
becomes zero as its line of action passes through O. The perpendicular distance for
y-components become

as shown in figure (c).

CASE-4: When the force is resolved on Y-axis, the

moment produced by the y-component about O becomes
zero as its line of action passes through O.

Primary Factors of Engineering Mechanics/33

The perpendicular distance for x-components become

CASE-5: Using vector equation

,

Moment vector in positive z-direction represents clockwise

sense of direction, hence

is in positive z-direction.

Example-1.14: Find the moment about point O of the

various force acting on the body.
SOLUTION:

Example-1.15: Find the moment about point O of the

various force acting on the body. (Hint: Resolve only
forces.)
SOLUTION: First Resolve the force along X-Axis & YAxis.

as shown in figure (d).

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Example-1.16: Find the moment about point O of the various force acting on the
body. (Hint: Resolve only forces)
SOLUTION: First Resolve the force along X-Axis & Y-Axis.
The moment of both 100N forces will be zero as they are passing through the point
O.

Example-1.17: Find the moment about point O of the various force acting on the
body. (Hint: Resolve forces as well as distances also.)

SOLUTION:

Primary Factors of Engineering Mechanics/35

UNSOLVED EXERCISE-1.4
Q.1: Find the moment about point A of the force (F=200N) acting on the body.
(Ans:13 .648 N anti clock wise)

Q.2: Find the moment about point O of the various force acting on the body. (Ans:
333.92 N m clock wise)

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Q.3: Find the moment about point O of the various force acting on the body.
(Ans: 600N-m, 1.12N-m, 518N-m)

Q.4: The 30 N force P is applied perpendicular to the portion BC of the bent bar.
Determine the moment of P about point A and B.