Statics of

Rigid Bodies
WMSU BS Mechanical Engineering – 2A

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“Never give up, for that
is just the place and
time that tide will
turn”
- Harriet Stowe

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 “Whoever pursues
righteousness and love finds
life, prosperity and honor.”

- Proverbs 21:21

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 FORCES IN THE
PLANE
Lesson 1

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Force on a particle: Resultant of two forces

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Vectors and Resolution of a force into components.

Vectors are defined as mathematical expressions possessing

magnitude and direction, which add according to the parallelogram law.

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Rectangular Component of a Force

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Components of Forces

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Sample problem.
Determine the x and y components of each
of the forces shown.

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Sample problem.
Determine the x and y components of each
of the forces shown.

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Determine the resultant of the three forces.

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Equilibrium of a Particle
We thus have the following definition: When the
resultant of all the forces acting on a particle is zero, the
particle is in equilibrium.
In the latter part of the seventeenth century, Sir Isaac
Newton formulated three fundamental laws upon which
the science of mechanics is based. The first of these laws
can be stated as follows:
If the resultant force acting on a particle is zero, the
particle will remain at rest (if originally at rest) or will
move with constant speed in a straight line (if originally in
motion). 20
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