ALLEN CHRISTIAN S.

SALVATIERRA CIV 224

INTRODUCTION TO STATICS
SCIENCE OF MECHANICS

Mechanics is a branch of the physical sciences that is concerned with the state of rest or motion of bodies that are
subjected to the action of forces. In general, this subject can be subdivided into three branches: mechanics of rigid
bodies, mechanics of deformable bodies and fluid mechanics.

MECHANICS

Mechanics is defined as the science that describes and predicts the conditions of rest or motion of bodies under the
action of forces. Mechanics is an applied physical science since it aims to explain and predict physical phenomena and
thus to lay the foundations for engineering applications.

MECHANICS OF RIGID BODIES

Mechanics of Rigid Bodies is divided into two areas: statics and dynamics. Statics deals with bodies that are either at rest
or move with a constant velocity (BODY IS AT REST) ; whereas dynamics is concerned with the accelerated motion of
bodies (BODY IS AT MOTION).

HISTORY OF MECHANICS

Mechanics is the oldest of the physical sciences. The early history of this subject is synonymous with the very beginnings
of engineering. The earliest recorded writings in mechanics are those of the following:

1.Archimedes (287-212 B.C.) – the principle of the lever and the principle of buoyancy

2.Stevinus (1548-1620) – the formulation of the laws of vector combination of forces

3.Galileo Galilei (1564-1642) – the first investigation of a dynamics problem for his experiments with falling stones

4.Sir Isaac Newton (1642 – 1727) – accurate formulation of the laws of motion, as well as the law of gravitation, also
conceived the idea of the infinitesimal in mathematical analysis.

FUNDAMENTAL CONCEPTS AND PRINCIPLES

The basic concepts used in mechanics are space, time, mass, and force. These concepts cannot be truly defined; they
should be accepted based on our intuition and experience and used as a mental frame of reference for our study of
mechanics.

SPACE. The concept of space is associated with the position of a point P. We can define the position of P by providing
three lengths measured from a certain reference point, or origin, in three given directions. These lengths are known as
the coordinates of P.

TIME. To define an event, it is not sufficient to indicate its position in space. We also need to specify the time of the
event.

MASS. The concept of mass is used to characterize and compare bodies based on certain fundamental mechanical
experiments. Two bodies of the same mass, for example, are attracted by the earth in the same manner; they also offer
the same resistance to a change in translational motion.

FORCE. A force represents the action of one body on another. A force can be exerted by actual contact, like a push or a
pull, or at a distance, as in the case of gravitational or magnetic forces. A force is characterized by its point of application,
its magnitude and its direction; a force is represented by a vector.
PARTICLE. A particle has a mass, but a size that can be neglected. The size of the earth is insignificant compared to the
size of its orbit, and the earth can be modeled as a particle when studying its orbital motion. When a body is idealized as
a particle, the principles of mechanics reduce to a rather simplified form since the geometry of the body will not be
involved in the analysis of the problem.

RIGID BODY. A rigid body can be considered as a combination of many particles in which all the particles remain at a
fixed distance from one another, both before and after applying a load. This model is important because the body’s
shape does not change when a load is applied, and so we do not have to consider the type of material from which the
body is made.

CONCENTRATED FORCE. A concentrated force represents the effect of a loading which is assumed to act at a point on a
body. We can represent a load by a concentrated force, provided the area over which the load is applied is very small
compared to the overall size of the body. An example would be the contact force between a wheel and the ground.

“ENGINEERING APPROACH” TO PROBLEM ANALYSIS

1. GIVEN: After carefully reading the problem statement, list all the data provided. If a figure is required, sketch it neatly
and approximately to scale.

2. FIND: State the information that is to be determined.

3. SOLUTION: Solve the problem. showing all the steps that you used in the analysis. Work neatly so that your work can
be followed by others.

4. VALIDATE: Many times. an invalid solution can be uncovered by simply asking yourself, "Does the answer make
sense?"

NEWTON’S LAW OF MOTION

FIRST LAW. If the resultant force acting on a particle is zero, the particle remains at rest (if originally at rest) or moves
with constant speed in a straight line (if originally in motion).

SECOND LAW. If the resultant force acting on a particle is not zero, the particle has acceleration proportional to the
magnitude of the resultant and in the direction of this resultant force. This law can be stated as F = ma

THIRD LAW. The forces of action and reaction between bodies on contact have the same magnitude, same line of action,
and opposite sense.

NEWTON’S LAW OF GRAVITATION

Two particles of mass M and m are mutually attracted with equal and opposite forces F and -F of magnitude F, given the
formula F= GMm/r^2

Where r= distance between particles, G= universal constatnt or constant of gravitation = 6.67 x 10^-11 m^3/kg.s^2

UNITS

In mechanics we use four fundamental quantities called dimensions. These are length, mass, force, and time. The units
used to measure these quantities cannot all be chosen independently because they must be consistent with Newton's
second law

SI UNITS

The
International
System of
Units,
abbreviated SI (from the French, System International d'Unites), is accepted in the United States and throughout
the world, and is a modern version of the metric system).

US CUSTOMARY UNITS

The U.S. customary, or British system of units, also called the foot-pound-second (FPS) system, has been the common
system in business and industry in English-speaking countries. Although this system will in time be replaced by SI units,
for many more year's engineers must be able to work with both SI units and FPS units.
 FORCE ON A PARTICLE

• A force represents the action of one body on another. It is characterized by its point of application,
its magnitude, and its direction.

• Forces acting on a given particle have the same point of application.

• The magnitude of a force is characterized by a certain number of units.

• The direction of a force is defined by its line of action and the sense of the force. The line of action is the
infinite straight line along which the force acts; it is characterized by the angle it forms with some fixed axis.

• The force itself is represented by a segment of that line; using an appropriate scale, the length of this segment
may be chosen to represent the magnitude of the force.
• The sense of the force should be indicated by an arrowhead.
• It is important in defining a force to indicate its sense. Two forces having the same magnitude and the same line
of action but different sense, such as the forces shown above, will have directly opposite effects on a particle.

FREE BODY DIAGRAM

• In practice, a problem in engineering mechanics is derived from an actual physical situation. A sketch
showing the physical conditions of the problem is known as a space diagram.
• Large number of problems involving actual structures can be reduced to problems concerning the equilibrium of
a particle. The method is to choose a significant particle and draw a separate diagram showing this particle and
all the forces acting on it. Such a diagram is called a free-body diagram. (The name derives from the fact that
when drawing the chosen body, or particle, it is “free” from all other bodies in the actual situation.)