Republic of the Philippines
DON HONORIO VENTURA STATE UNIVERSITY
Villa de Bacolor, Pampanga
A. Course Code / Title : Statics 213 / Statics of Rigid Bodies
B. Module Number : Module 1 - Introduction
C. Time Frame : 1st week - 3 hours
D. Description :
This module looks into the importance of Mechanics to Civil Engineering students,
particularly,the fundamental principles of Mechanics, system of units, conversion factors and SI
prefixes.
E. Objectives:
At the end of this module, the learner should be able to:
1. Establish better understanding of the basic concept of Mechanics based on experiment
evidences.
2. Convert units from one system to another.
F. Contents
Introduction
Mechanics is a branch of Physical Science which describes and predicts the conditions of rest or
motion of bodies under the action of forces.
Three Divisions of Mechanics
Mechanics of Rigid Bodies
Mechanics of Deformable Bodies
Mechanics of Fluids
Two Divisions of Mechanics of Rigid Bodies
Statics - dealing with bodies at rest
Dynamics - dealing with bodies in motion
Six fundamental principles of Mechanics based on experiments evidences:
The Parallelogram Law for the Addition of Forces
This states that two forces acting on a particle maybe
F2
replaced by a single force, called the resultant, obtained by
drawing the diagonal of the parallelogram which has sides equal R F1
F1
to the given forces.
F2
The Principle of Transmissibility
This states that the conditions of equilibrium or of motion of a rigid body will remain
unchanged if a force acting at a given point of the rigid body is replaced by a force of the same
magnitude and same direction, but acting at a different point, provided that the two forces have the
same line of action.
Newton’s Three Fundamental Laws
First Law
If the resultant forces acting on a particle are 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).
Second Law
If the resultant force acting on a particle is not zero, the particle will have acceleration
proportional to the magnitude of the resultant and in the direction of this resultant force. F = ma.
Third Law
The forces of action and reaction between bodies in contact have the same magnitude, same
line of action and opposite sense.
Newton’s Law of Gravitation
This states that two particles of mass M and m are mutually attracted with equal and
opposite forces F and F’ of magnitude F given by the formula
GMm
F
r2
Where:
r r = distance between two particles
G = universal constant called the constant of
M F F’ m gravitation
11 m3
G 6.67 x10
kg s 2
System of Units:
International System of Units (SI units)
Length
The meter had its origin in the metric system. By international agreement, the standard
meter had been defined as the distance between two fine lines on a bar of platinum - iridium alloy.
The 1960 conference redefined the meter as 1, 650, 763. 73 wavelengths of the reddish - orange
light emitted by the isotope krypton - 86. The meter was again redefined in 1983 as the length of
the path traveled by light in vacuum during a time interval of 1 / 299, 792, 458 of a second.
Mass
When the metric system was created, the kilogram was defined as the mass of 1 cubic
decimeter of pure water at the temperature of its maximum density (4.0˚C / 39.2˚F). A solid
cylinder of platinum was carefully made to match this quantity of water under the specified
conditions. Later it was discovered that a quantity of water as pure or as stable as required could
not be provided. Therefore the primary standard of mass became the platinum cylinder, which
was replaced in 1889 by a platinum - iridium cylinder of similar mass. Today this cylinder still
serves as the international kilogram, and the kilogram in SI is defined as a quantity of mass of the
international prototype of the kilogram.
Time
For centuries, time has been universally measured in terms of the rotation of the earth. The
second, the basic unit of time, was defined as 1 / 86, 400 of a mean solar day (see Day) or one
complete rotation of the earth on its axis. Scientists discovered, however, that the rotation of the
earth was not constant enough to serve as the basis of the time standard. As a result, the second was
redefined in 1967 in terms of the resonant frequency of the cesium atom - that is, the frequency at
which this atom absorbs energy, or 9, 192, 631, 770 hertz (cycles per second).
SI Prefixes
Multiplication Factor Prefix Symbol
1,000,000,000,000,000,000 = 1 x 10 18 Exa E
1,000,000,000,000,000 = 1 x 1015 Peta P
1,000,000,000,000 = 1 x 1012 Tera T
1,000,000,000 = 1 x 109 Giga G
1,000,000 = 1 x 106 Mega M
1,000 = 1 x 103 Kilo K
100 = 1 x 102 hecto h
10 deka da
0.10 = 1 x 10 -1 deci d
0.01 = 1 x 10 -2 centi c
0.001 = 1 x 10 -3 milli m
0.000001 = 1 x 10 -6 micro μ
0.000000001 = 1 x 10 -9 nano η
0.000000000001 = 1 x10 -12 pico р
Conversion of Units:
Length 1 foot = 12 inches
1 mile = 5280 feet
1 inch = 2.54 centimeters
1 foot = 0.3048 meter
1 meter = 3.281 feet = 39.37 inches
Time 1 day = 24 hours
1 hour = 60 minutes
1 minute = 60 seconds
Mass 1 slug = 14.59 kilograms
Force 1 pound = 4.448 Newton
Angle 2πradians = 360 degrees
Example:
9 Mg = 9000 kg
10 GPa = 10 x 103 MPa
12 μm = 12 x 10- 9 km
23 ηg = 23 x 10- 6 mg
1 day = 86, 400 sec
1 mile = 1.6098 km
Principal SI units used in Mechanics
Quantity Unit Symbol Formula
m
Acceleration Meter per second squared
s2
Angle radian rad
rad
Angular acceleration Radian per second squared
s2
rad
Angular velocity Radian per second
s
Area Square meter m2
kg
Density Kilogram per cubic meter
m3
Energy joule J N-m
kg m
Force Newton N
s2
Frequency Hertz Hz s -1
Length meter m
Mass kilogram kg
Moment of a force Newton - meter N-m
Power Watt W J/s
N
Pressure Pascal Pa
m2
N
Stress Pascal Pa
m2
Time Second s
m
Velocity meter per second
s
Volume cubic meter m3
Work Joule J N-m
G. References:
1. Vector Mechanics for Engineers 10th Edition, Beer, F.P., Johnston, [Link], Mazurek, D.F.,
Cornwell, P.J.2013
2. Engineering Mechanics Statics 13th Edition, Hibbeler, R.C.,2013
3. Engineering Mechanics Statics 14th Edition, Hibbeler, R.C.,2016