LESSON PLAN

LECTURE 8

INTRODUCTION TO STATICS

1. Statics deals with the conditions of equilibrium of bodies acted upon by forces .

2. A rigid body is defined as a definite quantity of matter , the parts of which are
fixed in position relative to one another . The physical bodies are never absolutely
rigid but deform slightly under the action of loads, which they have to carry .If the
deformation is negligible when compared with the size of body , it is assumed to
be rigid.

3. A particle may be defined as an object which has only mass , and no size. Such a
body cannot exist theoretically , but when dealing with problems involving
distances considerably larger when compared to the size of the body can be
neglected without sacrificing accuracy.

4. Force may be defined as any action that tends to change the state o restor motion
of a body to which it is applied.The three quantities , which completely define a
force, are called its specifications. The specifications of a force are (1) its
magnitude , (2) its point of application , and (3) its direction The S.I. unit used by
engineers to measure the magnitude of a force is the Newton

5. The point of application of a force acting upon a body is that point in the body at
which the force can be assumed to be concentrated . The direction of a force is the
direction , along a straight line through its point of application , in which the
force tends to move a body to which it is applied.

6. VECTOR AND SCALAR QUANTITIES

A quantity is said to be scalar if it is completely defined by its magnitude alone.

Examples are length , area and time.

A quantity is said ton be a vector , if it is completely defined only when its magnitude
and direction are specified . Hence , force is a vector. The other examples of vector
are velocity and acceleration.

7. TRANSMISSIBILITY OF A FORCE ( Sliding Vector)

When two forces are in equilibrium (equal, opposite, collinear) , their resultant is zero
and their combined action on a rigid body is equivalent to that of no fofce at all.

8. LAW OF SUPERPOSITION
 The action of a given system of a system of forces on a rigid body will in no way be
changed if we add to or subtract from the another system of forces.

LECTURE 9

SYSTEM OF FORCES

Force System Characteristics Examples

Collinear forces Line of action of all the Forces on a rope in a tug of

forces act along the same war.
line.
Coplanar parallel forces All forces are parallel to System of forces acting on a
each other and lie in a beam subjected to vertical
single plane. loads.(including reactions)
Coplanar like parallel forces All forces are parallel to Weight of a stationary train
each other , lie in a single on a rail when the track is
plane and are acting in the straight.
same direction.
Coplanar concurrent forces Line of action of all forces Forces on a rod resting
pass through a single poin against a wall.
αα t and forces lie in the
same plane.
Coplanar nonconcurrent All forces do not meet at a
Forces on a ladder resting
forces point , but lie in a single
against a wall when a
plane. person stands on a rung
which is not at its centre of
gravity.
Non- coplanar parallel All the forces are parallel to The weight of benches in a
forces each other, but not in the class room.
same plane.
Non –coplanar concurrent All forces do not lie in the A tripod carrying a camera.
forces same plane, but their lines
of action pass through a
single point.
Non- coplanar non- All forces do not lie in the Forces acting on a moving
concurrent forces same plane and their lines bus.
of action do not pass
through a single point.

LAMI’S THEOREM

If three concurrent forces are acting on a body, kept in an equilibrium , then each force is
proportional to the sine of the angle between the other two forces and the constant of
proportionality is the same.
LECTURE 10

FREE BODY DIAGRAMS

A free body is a body not connected with other bodies and which from any given position
can be displaced in any direction in space. Free body diagram is a sketch of the isolated
body , which shows the external forces on the body and the reactions exerted on it by the
removed elements .

The general procedure for constructing a free- body diagram is as follows –

1. A sketch of the body is drawn , by removing the supporting surfaces.

2. Indicate on this sketch all the applied forces , which tend to set the body in motion
, such as those caused by weight of the body or applied forces.

3. Also indicate on this sketch all the reactive forces, such as those caused by the
constraints as supports that tend to prevent motion.

4. All relevant dimensions and angles, reference axes are shown on the sketch.

EQUILIBRIUM OF A BODY

A body is said to be in equilibrium when it is at rest or continues to be in steady

linear motion. According to Newton’s law of motion , it means that the resultant of all the
forces acting on a body in equilibrium is zero . In graphical terms , it means that the
force polygon closes.
The resultant R of a system of concurrent forces is zero only when the following
conditions are satisfied:
∑ X =0
∑Y = 0
It may be observed that only one of the above two conditions is not sufficient.

TYPES OF FORCES ON A BODY

While applying equilibrium conditions to a body it is essential that all forces

acting on the body should be considered . The various forces acting on a body may be
grouped as
(i) Applied forces
(ii) Non applied forces

Applied forces – Applied forces are the forces applied externally to a body.
Each of the forces has got a point of contact with the body.
Non –applied forces – There are two types of non-applied forces (a) Self
weight (b) Reactions

Self weight – Every object is subjected to gravitational acceleration and hence

has got a self weight.

W = mg
Reactions – These are self adjusting forces developed by the other bodies
which come in contact with the body in consideration . The reactions adjust
themselves to bring the body in equilibrium.

LECTURE 11

THEOREM OF VARIGNON

The moment of the resultant of two concurrent forces with respect to a center
in their plane is equal to the algebraic sum of the moments of the components
with respect to the same center.

MOMENT OF A FORCE

Moment of a force about a point is the measure of its rotational effect .

Moment is defined as the product of the magnitude of the force and the
perpendicular distance of the point from the line of action of the force . The
ple point about which the moment is considered is called moment center and
the perpendicular distance of the point from the line of action of the force is
called moment arm.

The moment of a force has got direction also. It may be that moment has a
clockwise or anticlockwise direction . The S. I. unit of moment is N-m.

COUPLE

Two parallel forces equal in magnitude and opposite in direction and

separated by a definite distance are said to form a couple .
The sum of the forces forming a couple in any direction is zero , which means
the translatory effect of the couple is zero.

Now , we can list the following characteristics of a couple-

(i) A couple consists of a pair of equal and opposite parallel forces which
are separated by a definite distance.
(ii) The translatory effect of a couple on the body is zero.
(iii) The rotational effect (moment) of a couple about any point and it is
equal to the product of the magnitude of the forces and the
perpendicular distance between the two forces.
 (iv) Since the sole effect of a couple is a moment and this moment is the
same about any point , the effect of a couple is unchanged if

(a) The couple is rotated through any angle.

(b) The couple is shifted to any other position .
(c) The couple is replaced by another pair of forces whose rotational effect
is the same.
LECTURE 12

SOME IMPORTANT FACTS

1. Two couples acting in the same plane are equivalent if they have equal moments .
A couple is completely defined by its plane of action and the magnitude and sign
of its moment.
2. The moment of the resultant couple is equal to the algebraic sum of the moments
of the two given couples.
3. We can replace several couples in one plane by a single resultant couple acting in
the same plane, the moment of which is equal to the algebraic sum of the
moments of the given couples.
4. A couple can be balanced only by another couple which is equal in moment ,
opposite in sign , and coplanar in action with the given couple.
5. A system of couples acting in one plane is in equilibrium if the algebraic sum of
their moments is equal to zero.
6. It is possible to resolve a couple into several component couples by choosing the
component couples in such a manner that the algebraic sum of the moments is
equal to the moment of the given couple.
7. A given force P applied to a body at any point A can always be replaced by an
equal force applied at another point B together with a couple which will be
statically equivalent to the original force.
8. Built –in –end (fixed supports ) is considerably more complex constraint than the
other types of constraints. It restricts the translatory motion as well as rotation.

COMPOSITION OF TWO FORCES

The reduction of a given system of forces to the simplest system that will be
equivalent is called the problem of composition of forces.

RESOLUTION OF A FORCE

The replacement of a single force by several components , which will be equivalent in

action to the given force , is called the problem of resolution of force.

EQUILIBRIUM OF THREE FORCES IN A PLANE

 Three non- parallel forces can be in equilibrium only when they lie in one plane ,
intersect in one point , and their free vectors build a closed triangle.The statement is
called the theorem of three forces.

LECTURE 13

INTRODUCTION TO VECTOR ALGEBRA

A vector quantity is defined as a quantity , which satisfies
(i) The qualification of possessing a certain magnitude, including a null vector.

(ii) Having a certain orientation in space , called its direction and

(iii) A sense , which qualifies its nature of action (moving towards or away
from a given point)

EQUALITY AND EQUIVALENCE OF VECTORS

Two vectors are considered to be equal if and only if they have same magnitude , same
direction and same sense.
Two vectors are said to be equivalent if they produce the same effect in a certain respect.

FREE VECTOR

The action of free vector is not confined to a unique line in space . The vector may be
moved any where in the space without rotation.
Examples: Moment vector

BOUND OR FIXED VECTOR

Must remain at the same point of application . i.e. , a definite point of application.
An example of bound vector is the weight of a body .
The weight of a body always passes through the center of gravity of the body and is
always directed towards the center of earth irrespective of the orientation of the boby in
space.

TRIANGLE LAW OF FORCES

It can be stated as “ If two forces acting simultaneously on a body are represented by the
sides of a triangle taken in order , their resultant is represented by the closing side of the
triangle taken in the opposite order.

PARALLELOGRAM LAW OF FORCES

If two forces, represented by vector AB and AC acting under an angle α , are applied to a
body at point A , their action is equivalent to the action of one force , represented by the
vector AD , obtained as the diagonal of the parallelogram constructed on the vectors AB
and AC are directed.

LECTURE 14

RESOLUTION OF A VECTOR

A vector can be resolved along three mutually perpendicular directions by constructing

two parallelograms.
DIRECTION COSINES OF A VECTOR

If the angles made by a vector V with the axes of reference x,y,and z be α , β , χ

respectively , the direction cosines l ,m and n of the vectors are defined by

UNIT VECTOR

A unit vector is defined as a vector having unit magnitude and a particular direction and
sense along the vector.

UNIT CO – ORDINATE VECTOR

Unit vectors lying along the axes of reference OX, OY and OZ are called unit co-ordinate
vectors.

PRODUCT OF TWO VECTORS

(i) Scalar product or dot product

By definition the scalar product or dot product of two vectors results in a scalar
quantity whose magnitude is given by

A.B = ABcos α

EXAMPLES OF DOT PRODUCT (concept of work)

Force F acting on a particle produces a displacement ds , then elementary work done

dw = (Fcos θ )ds

VECTOR PRODUCT OR CROSS PRODUCT

Cross product of two vectors A and B generates another vector C such that

(i) The magnitude of C is given by ABSin ϑ

(ii) Direction of C is perpendicular to planecontaining A and B
Sense is determined by right hand thumb screw rule or by right hand thumb rule.
Example of cross product (concept of moment of a force)
IMPORTANT VECTOR QUANTITIES

Position Vector : The directed line segment r from the origin of a co-ordinate system
to a point P in space is called the position vector.

Displacement Vector : Displacement vector is a directed line segment connecting any

two points on the path of motion .This represent shortest movement of the particle to
get from one position on the path of motion to another.
LECTURE 15

PRINCIPLE OF VIRTUAL WORK

The principle of virtual work lays emphasis on the fact that a small displacement of
the bodies and found out the work done by various forces in the system and said if the
body is in equilibrium then the total work done on the system should be zero.This
approach is called “ virtual work method “ .The word virtual is used since in reality
there is no actual displacement . The term virtual is defined by Webster as “being in
essence of effect but not infact.”

The work done is virtual if the displacements are virtual or forces acting are virtual
.Hence in virtual work approach we may have the following-

(i) Principles of virtual displacements

(ii) Principles of virtual forces

THE METHOD

The method consists of the following steps –

1. Give an elemental virtual displacement to the body in equilibrium in suitable

direction.
2. Write down the work done by each force in the system.
3. Sum up total work done by system of forces and equate it to zero to get required
equations. Many times such equations are identical to equations of equilibrium
.However, the method of getting these equations is completely different in this
method.

SIGN CONVENTION

In this chapter the positive senses of moments and displacements are as given below-

1. Forces and displacements are positive if they are in positive direction of co-
ordinates.
2. Moments and relations are positive if they are in clockwise direction.
 LECTURE 8

INTRODUCTION TO STATICS

9. Statics deals with the conditions of equilibrium of bodies acted upon by forces .

10. A rigid body is defined as a definite quantity of matter , the parts of which are
fixed in position relative to one another . The physical bodies are never absolutely
rigid but deform slightly under the action of loads, which they have to carry .If the
deformation is negligible when compared with the size of body , it is assumed to
be rigid.

11. A particle may be defined as an object which has only mass , and no size. Such a
body cannot exist theoretically , but when dealing with problems involving
distances considerably larger when compared to the size of the body can be
neglected without sacrificing accuracy.

12. Force may be defined as any action that tends to change the state o restor motion
of a body to which it is applied.The three quantities , which completely define a
force, are called its specifications. The specifications of a force are (1) its
magnitude , (2) its point of application , and (3) its direction The S.I. unit used by
engineers to measure the magnitude of a force is the Newton

13. The point of application of a force acting upon a body is that point in the body at
which the force can be assumed to be concentrated . The direction of a force is the
direction , along a straight line through its point of application , in which the
force tends to move a body to which it is applied.

14. VECTOR AND SCALAR QUANTITIES

A quantity is said to be scalar if it is completely defined by its magnitude alone.

Examples are length , area and time.

A quantity is said ton be a vector , if it is completely defined only when its magnitude
and direction are specified . Hence , force is a vector. The other examples of vector
are velocity and acceleration.

15. TRANSMISSIBILITY OF A FORCE ( Sliding Vector)

When two forces are in equilibrium (equal, opposite, collinear) , their resultant is zero
and their combined action on a rigid body is equivalent to that of no fofce at all.
 16. LAW OF SUPERPOSITION
The action of a given system of a system of forces on a rigid body will in no way be
changed if we add to or subtract from the another system of forces.

LECTURE 9

SYSTEM OF FORCES

Force System Characteristics Examples

Collinear forces Line of action of all the Forces on a rope in a tug of

forces act along the same war.
line.
Coplanar parallel forces All forces are parallel to System of forces acting on a
each other and lie in a beam subjected to vertical
single plane. loads.(including reactions)
Coplanar like parallel forces All forces are parallel to Weight of a stationary train
each other , lie in a single on a rail when the track is
plane and are acting in the straight.
same direction.
Coplanar concurrent forces Line of action of all forces Forces on a rod resting
pass through a single poin against a wall.
αα t and forces lie in the
same plane.
Coplanar nonconcurrent All forces do not meet at a
Forces on a ladder resting
forces point , but lie in a single
against a wall when a
plane. person stands on a rung
which is not at its centre of
gravity.
Non- coplanar parallel All the forces are parallel to The weight of benches in a
forces each other, but not in the class room.
same plane.
Non –coplanar concurrent All forces do not lie in the A tripod carrying a camera.
forces same plane, but their lines
of action pass through a
single point.
Non- coplanar non- All forces do not lie in the Forces acting on a moving
concurrent forces same plane and their lines bus.
of action do not pass
through a single point.

LAMI’S THEOREM
If three concurrent forces are acting on a body, kept in an equilibrium , then each force is
proportional to the sine of the angle between the other two forces and the constant of
proportionality is the same.

LECTURE 10

FREE BODY DIAGRAMS

A free body is a body not connected with other bodies and which from any given position
can be displaced in any direction in space. Free body diagram is a sketch of the isolated
body , which shows the external forces on the body and the reactions exerted on it by the
removed elements .

The general procedure for constructing a free- body diagram is as follows –

5. A sketch of the body is drawn , by removing the supporting surfaces.

6. Indicate on this sketch all the applied forces , which tend to set the body in motion
, such as those caused by weight of the body or applied forces.

7. Also indicate on this sketch all the reactive forces, such as those caused by the
constraints as supports that tend to prevent motion.

8. All relevant dimensions and angles, reference axes are shown on the sketch.

EQUILIBRIUM OF A BODY

A body is said to be in equilibrium when it is at rest or continues to be in steady

linear motion. According to Newton’s law of motion , it means that the resultant of all the
forces acting on a body in equilibrium is zero . In graphical terms , it means that the
force polygon closes.
The resultant R of a system of concurrent forces is zero only when the following
conditions are satisfied:
∑ X =0
∑Y = 0
It may be observed that only one of the above two conditions is not sufficient.

TYPES OF FORCES ON A BODY

While applying equilibrium conditions to a body it is essential that all forces

acting on the body should be considered . The various forces acting on a body may be
grouped as
(iv) Applied forces
(v) Non applied forces
Applied forces – Applied forces are the forces applied externally to a body.
Each of the forces has got a point of contact with the body.

Non –applied forces – There are two types of non-applied forces (a) Self
weight (b) Reactions

Self weight – Every object is subjected to gravitational acceleration and hence

has got a self weight.

W = mg
Reactions – These are self adjusting forces developed by the other bodies
which come in contact with the body in consideration . The reactions adjust
themselves to bring the body in equilibrium.

LECTURE 11

THEOREM OF VARIGNON

The moment of the resultant of two concurrent forces with respect to a center
in their plane is equal to the algebraic sum of the moments of the components
with respect to the same center.

MOMENT OF A FORCE

Moment of a force about a point is the measure of its rotational effect .

Moment is defined as the product of the magnitude of the force and the
perpendicular distance of the point from the line of action of the force . The
ple point about which the moment is considered is called moment center and
the perpendicular distance of the point from the line of action of the force is
called moment arm.

The moment of a force has got direction also. It may be that moment has a
clockwise or anticlockwise direction . The S. I. unit of moment is N-m.

COUPLE

Two parallel forces equal in magnitude and opposite in direction and

separated by a definite distance are said to form a couple .
The sum of the forces forming a couple in any direction is zero , which means
the translatory effect of the couple is zero.

Now , we can list the following characteristics of a couple-

(v) A couple consists of a pair of equal and opposite parallel forces which
are separated by a definite distance.
(vi) The translatory effect of a couple on the body is zero.
 (vii) The rotational effect (moment) of a couple about any point and it is
equal to the product of the magnitude of the forces and the
perpendicular distance between the two forces.
(viii) Since the sole effect of a couple is a moment and this moment is the
same about any point , the effect of a couple is unchanged if

(d) The couple is rotated through any angle.

(e) The couple is shifted to any other position .
(f) The couple is replaced by another pair of forces whose rotational effect
is the same.
LECTURE 12

SOME IMPORTANT FACTS

9. Two couples acting in the same plane are equivalent if they have equal moments .
A couple is completely defined by its plane of action and the magnitude and sign
of its moment.
10. The moment of the resultant couple is equal to the algebraic sum of the moments
of the two given couples.
11. We can replace several couples in one plane by a single resultant couple acting in
the same plane, the moment of which is equal to the algebraic sum of the
moments of the given couples.
12. A couple can be balanced only by another couple which is equal in moment ,
opposite in sign , and coplanar in action with the given couple.
13. A system of couples acting in one plane is in equilibrium if the algebraic sum of
their moments is equal to zero.
14. It is possible to resolve a couple into several component couples by choosing the
component couples in such a manner that the algebraic sum of the moments is
equal to the moment of the given couple.
15. A given force P applied to a body at any point A can always be replaced by an
equal force applied at another point B together with a couple which will be
statically equivalent to the original force.
16. Built –in –end (fixed supports ) is considerably more complex constraint than the
other types of constraints. It restricts the translatory motion as well as rotation.

COMPOSITION OF TWO FORCES

The reduction of a given system of forces to the simplest system that will be
equivalent is called the problem of composition of forces.

RESOLUTION OF A FORCE

The replacement of a single force by several components , which will be equivalent in

action to the given force , is called the problem of resolution of force.

EQUILIBRIUM OF THREE FORCES IN A PLANE

 Three non- parallel forces can be in equilibrium only when they lie in one plane ,
intersect in one point , and their free vectors build a closed triangle.The statement is
called the theorem of three forces.

LECTURE 13

INTRODUCTION TO VECTOR ALGEBRA

A vector quantity is defined as a quantity , which satisfies
(i) The qualification of possessing a certain magnitude, including a null vector.

(ii) Having a certain orientation in space , called its direction and

(vi) A sense , which qualifies its nature of action (moving towards or away
from a given point)

EQUALITY AND EQUIVALENCE OF VECTORS

Two vectors are considered to be equal if and only if they have same magnitude , same
direction and same sense.
Two vectors are said to be equivalent if they produce the same effect in a certain respect.

FREE VECTOR

The action of free vector is not confined to a unique line in space . The vector may be
moved any where in the space without rotation.
Examples: Moment vector

BOUND OR FIXED VECTOR

Must remain at the same point of application . i.e. , a definite point of application.
An example of bound vector is the weight of a body .
The weight of a body always passes through the center of gravity of the body and is
always directed towards the center of earth irrespective of the orientation of the boby in
space.

TRIANGLE LAW OF FORCES

It can be stated as “ If two forces acting simultaneously on a body are represented by the
sides of a triangle taken in order , their resultant is represented by the closing side of the
triangle taken in the opposite order.

PARALLELOGRAM LAW OF FORCES

If two forces, represented by vector AB and AC acting under an angle α , are applied to a
body at point A , their action is equivalent to the action of one force , represented by the
vector AD , obtained as the diagonal of the parallelogram constructed on the vectors AB
and AC are directed.

LECTURE 14

RESOLUTION OF A VECTOR

A vector can be resolved along three mutually perpendicular directions by constructing

two parallelograms.
DIRECTION COSINES OF A VECTOR

If the angles made by a vector V with the axes of reference x,y,and z be α , β , χ

respectively , the direction cosines l ,m and n of the vectors are defined by

UNIT VECTOR

A unit vector is defined as a vector having unit magnitude and a particular direction and
sense along the vector.

UNIT CO – ORDINATE VECTOR

Unit vectors lying along the axes of reference OX, OY and OZ are called unit co-ordinate
vectors.

PRODUCT OF TWO VECTORS

(ii) Scalar product or dot product

By definition the scalar product or dot product of two vectors results in a scalar
quantity whose magnitude is given by

A.B = ABcos α

EXAMPLES OF DOT PRODUCT (concept of work)

Force F acting on a particle produces a displacement ds , then elementary work done

dw = (Fcos θ )ds

VECTOR PRODUCT OR CROSS PRODUCT

Cross product of two vectors A and B generates another vector C such that

(iii) The magnitude of C is given by ABSin ϑ

(iv) Direction of C is perpendicular to planecontaining A and B
Sense is determined by right hand thumb screw rule or by right hand thumb rule.
Example of cross product (concept of moment of a force)

IMPORTANT VECTOR QUANTITIES

Position Vector : The directed line segment r from the origin of a co-ordinate system
to a point P in space is called the position vector.

Displacement Vector : Displacement vector is a directed line segment connecting any

two points on the path of motion .This represent shortest movement of the particle to
get from one position on the path of motion to another.
LECTURE 15

PRINCIPLE OF VIRTUAL WORK

The principle of virtual work lays emphasis on the fact that a small displacement of
the bodies and found out the work done by various forces in the system and said if the
body is in equilibrium then the total work done on the system should be zero.This
approach is called “ virtual work method “ .The word virtual is used since in reality
there is no actual displacement . The term virtual is defined by Webster as “being in
essence of effect but not infact.”

The work done is virtual if the displacements are virtual or forces acting are virtual
.Hence in virtual work approach we may have the following-

(iii) Principles of virtual displacements

(iv) Principles of virtual forces

THE METHOD

The method consists of the following steps –

4. Give an elemental virtual displacement to the body in equilibrium in suitable

direction.
5. Write down the work done by each force in the system.
6. Sum up total work done by system of forces and equate it to zero to get required
equations. Many times such equations are identical to equations of equilibrium
.However, the method of getting these equations is completely different in this
method.

SIGN CONVENTION

In this chapter the positive senses of moments and displacements are as given below-

3. Forces and displacements are positive if they are in positive direction of co-
ordinates.
4. Moments and relations are positive if they are in clockwise direction.