Chapter 1:

Fundamental Concepts
Branches of Mechanics

Mechanics is divided into three major

parts.
1. Mechanics of rigid bodies
2. Mechanics of deformable bodies
3. Mechanics of fluids
1. Statics – Considers the effects of forces on rigid bodies that are at rest
2. Dynamics – Considers the effects of forces on rigid bodies that are in motion
Definition of Terms
Rigid Body- A definite amount of matter, parts of which are
fixed in position relative to each other.

Force- may be defined as that which changes, or tends to

change the state of motion of a body.

Mathematical Expression of a force:

Where:
F – Force (N, lbs, Tons etc.)
m – Mass (kg, etc)
a – Acceleration (m/sec2, ft/sec2, etc)
Weight is different from a mass. Weight can be similar to force, a
weight is subjected parallel to the gravity. A mass of an object
multiplied by the acceleration due to gravity is its weight.

𝑾 =𝒎𝒈
Where:
W – Weight (N, lbs, Tons etc.)
m – Mass (kg , etc)
g – Acceleration due to Gravity (m/sec2, ft/sec2,
etc)
Characteristics of a force:
1. Magnitude (amount of force)
2. Position of its line of action
3. The direction of which the force acts along its line of action.

Parts of a Force:
Scalar and Vector Quantities

1. Scalar Quantities – are quantities which possess magnitude only and

can be added arithmetically. These are values that have magnitude
(amount) but don’t have a direction. (ex. Area, Volume, etc.)

2. Vector Quantities – are quantities which possess magnitude and

direction and can only be added geometrically. (ex. Force, weight, velocity,
etc.)
Axioms of Mechanics
1. Parallelogram Law states that the resultant of two forces is the diagonal of
the parallelogram formed on the vectors of these forces.
2. Two forces are in equilibrium only when equal on magnitude, opposite in
direction, and collinear in action.
3. A set of forces in equilibrium may be added to any system of forces without
changing the effect of the original system.
4. Action and reaction forces are equal but oppositely directed.
Units and Conversion

Unit of Mass

Metric system: kilogram (kg) and gram (g)

English system: slug and Pound (lb)

Units of Force and Weight

Metric system: Newton (N) and Dyne (dyn) (a combination of g-cm/s2)

English system: Pound Force (lb) and Kips (kip) (1000 pound force)
Units of Moment

Newton-Meter (N-m) and Pound-Feet (lb-ft).

Some important conversions:

Units of Angle
1 m = 100 cm = 1,000 mm
Degrees and Radians. (millimeters)
1 km (kilometer) = 1,000 m
1 kg (kilogram) = 1,000 g (grams)
1 N (newton) = 105 dynes
1 J (joule) = 107 ergs
1 P (pascal) = 10 Ba
1 A (amp) = 0.1 Bi
1 T (tesla) = 104 G (gauss)
• Length: • Mass:
1 m = 100 cm 1 kg = 1,000 g
1 km = 1,000 m 1 slug = 14.59 kg
1 in (inch) = 2.54 cm 1 u (atomic mass unit) = 1.6605 x 10–27 kg
1 m = 39.37 in 1kg = 2.204 lb
1 mile = 5,280 ft = 1.609 km
• Energy:
1 angstrom = 10–10 m
1 J = 107 ergs
• Force:
1 J = 0.7376 ft-lb
1 lb (pound) = 4.448 N
1 BTU (British thermal unit) = 1,055 J
1 N = 10 dynes
5
1 kWh (kilowatt hour) = 3.600 x 106 J
1 N = 0.2248 lb
1 eV (electron volt) = 1.602 x 10–19 J
• Power:
• Angle:
1 hp (horsepower) = 550 ft-lb/s
1rad = 180°/π
1 W (watt) = 0.7376 ft-lb/s
A ball drops 5 meters. How many centimeters did it drop?

How many seconds are in 1.25 minutes?

Given that there are 2.54 centimeters in 1 inch, how many centimeters are there in 1
yard?
Significant Figures

Significant digits represent the accuracy with which you know your values.

Example:
If 23,400 has five significant figures, it is written as 23.400(103), but if it has
only three significant figures, it is written as 23.4(103).

If zeros occur at the beginning of a number that is less than one, then the zeros
are not significant.
0.00821 has three significant figures.
Using engineering notation, this number is expressed as 8.21(10–3).
Likewise, 0.000582 can be expressed as 0.582(10–3) or 582 (10-6).
3600
3600.
3600.00
0.36
0.360000
The rule is that when you multiply or divide numbers, the result has the number of
significant digits that equals the smallest number of significant digits in any of the
original numbers.

10.0 / 70 =

12.01 x 9.7 =
When you’re adding or subtracting numbers, the rule is that the last significant digit in
the result corresponds to the right-most column in the addition or subtraction.

5.1
+ 12
+ 7.73
Rounding Off Numbers

As a general rule, any numerical figure ending in a number greater than five is
rounded up and a number less than five is not rounded up.

Example:
Suppose the number 3.5587 is to be rounded off to three significant
figures. Because the fourth digit (8) is greater than 5, the third number is
rounded up to 3.56.
Round to 3 significant figures:

0.5896

9.3866

1.341

0.3762

9.871
There is a special case for any number that ends in a 5. As a general rule, if the
digit preceding the 5 is an even number, then this digit is not rounded up. If the
digit preceding the 5 is an odd number, then it is rounded up.

For example,
75.25 rounded off to three significant digits becomes 75.2

0.1275

0.2555