Chapter I 1.

The paralleglogram law: The resultant of two

PRINCIPLES OF STATICS forces is the diagonal of the parallelogram formed
on the vectors of these forces.
1.1 Introduction 2. Two forces are in equilibrium only when equal in
Engineering Mechanics may be defined as the magnitude, opposite in direction, and collinear in
science which considers the effects of forces on rigid action.
bodies. It is divided naturally into two parts: statics and 3. A set of forces in equilibrium may be added to
dynamics. any system of forces without changing the effect
Statics considers the effects and distribution of of the original system.
forces on rigid bodies which are and remain at rest. While 4. Action and reaction forces are equal but
Dynamics considers the motion of rigid bodies caused by oppositely directed.
the forces acting upon them.
1.5 Free-Body Diagram
One of the most important concepts in mechanics
is that of the free-body diagram. This concept is discussed
in detail in Chapter III where we first really use it.
To do so, it is necessary to isolate the body being
considered. The forces acting on the free body are the
action forces, also called the applied forces. The reaction
forces are those exerted by the free body upon other
bodies.
The free body may consist of an entire assembled
1.2 Fundamental Concepts and Definitions or an isolated part of it. For example, consider the derrick
Rigid Body is defined as a definite amount of shown in Figure 1-3a.
matter, where parts of which are fixed in position relative
to each other. Actually, solid bodies are never rigid; they
deformed under the action of applied forces. In many
cases, this deformation is negligible compared to the size
of the body and the body may assumed rigid. Bodies made
of steel or cast iron, for example, are of this type.
The study of strength of materials, however, is
based on the deformation (however small) of such bodies.
Force may be defined as that which changes, or
tends to change, the state of motion of body. This
definition applies to the external effect of a force. The
internal effect of a forces is to produce stress and
deformation in the body on which the force acts.
External effects of forces are considered in
engineering mechanics; internal effects, in strength of
materials.
The characteristics of a force are (1) its
magnitude, (2) the position of its line of action, (3) the
direction (or sense) in which the force acts along its line of
action.

1.3 Force Systems

A force system is any arrangement where two or
more forces act on a body or on a group of related bodies.
When the lines of action of all the forces in a force system
lie in one plane, they are referred to as being coplanar;
otherwise they are non-coplanar.
The force systems are further classified according
to their lines of action. Forces whose lines of action pass
through a common point are called con-current; those in
which the lines of action are parallel are called parallel
force systems; and those in which the lines of action
neither are parallel nor intersect in common point are
known as non-concurrent force system.

1.4 Axioms of Mechanics

 The tensions in these cords will then be equal to
the weights P and Q. Draw vectors P and Q to scale from
The free-body diagram of Pin C (Figure 1-3b) shows only point A where the cords are tied together and construct a
the forces acting upon C. These forces consist of the parallelogram with these vectors as the initial sides as
Weight, the pull T exerted by the cable, and the force P shown in Figure 1-7b.
exerted by the boom.
If the free –body diagram of the entire derrick were
desired, it would show only the forces acting on the
derrick as in Figure c.

Based on this parallelogram, make a diagonal and call it R.

It will be found that the the diagonal R of the
parallelogram scales exactly to the value of W and is in
line with the vector representing W.

1.6 Scalar and Vector Quantity

Scalars are quantities which possess magnitude
only and can be added arithmetically. Vector of a quantity
can be represented geometrically (i.e., graphically) by
drawing a line acting of the quantity. An arrow is placed
on the line, usually at the end, to denote the sense of the
direction.

1.7 Parallelogram Law

The method of vector addition is based on what
is known as the parallelogram law. One method of
demonstrating the law is by means of the apparatus shown
in Fig. 1-7a. Tie three cords together and fasten the
weights P, Q, and W to the free ends. (The sum of P and Q From Axiom 2 which states that two equal,
should be greater than W). Place the cords to which P and opposite, collinear forces are in equilibrium, we conclude
Q are attached over the smooth pegs as shown and allow that weight W will be perfectly supported by the force R.
the system to reach a position of equilibrium. In other words, the net effect of the forces P and Q may be
replaced by a single force R. Such a force is called
Resultant.
Therefore the resultant of two forces is the single
force which will produce the same effect as the original
forces. The parallelogram law may now be stated as
follows;
 The resultant of two forces is the diagonal
of the parallelogram formed on the vectors of
these forces.

1.8 Triangle Law

If we examine closely the parallelogram fored by
forces P and Q as in Figure 1-8a, we observe that side BC
is parallel and equal to side AD. If the triangle ABC were
drawn alone as in Fig. 1-8c, the Resultant R joining A to C
would have the same magnitude and direction as the
diagonal of the parallelogram ABCD. Same goes with
Triangle ABD in Fig. 1-8b.

We may now state that the triangle law as a

convenient corollary of the parallelogram law;

if two forces are represented by their free

vectors placed tip to tail, their resultant vector is
the third side of the triangle, the direction of the
resultant being from the tail of the first vector to
the last vector.