Fundamentals, units, calculations
Common idealizations in mechanics:
particle - has mass but a size that can be neglected.
rigid body - a collection of particles such that the distance
between all particles remains constant. A rigid body is not
deformable.
concentrated force - a force that acts at a point.
Newton’s laws of motion
1st law: A particle remains at rest, or continues to move in a
straight line with uniform velocity, if there is no unbalanced
force acting on it.
2nd law: The acceleration of a particle is proportional to the
resultant force acting on the particle, and is in the direction of
this force. v v
F = ma
v v
F = m a = 0 for static case
3rd law: The forces of action and reaction between interacting
bodies are equal in magnitude, opposite in direction, and co-
linear.
Newton’s law of gravitational attraction
Consider two particles of mass m1 and m2. Newton stated:
m1m 2
F=G 2
r
F = force of attraction between the two particles.
G = universal gravitational constant, experimentally found
to be = 66.73 (10-12) m3/(kg-s2).
r = distance between particles.
weight of a particle
Consider a particle with mass m1=m, and let the earth’s mass be
denoted by m2. Letting W=F where we call W the weight, we
can write
W=mg where g = acceleration due to gravity = Gm2/r2
Observation: We commonly think of g as a constant. However,
in our application of F=Gm1m2/r2, the earth is not a particle, it has
nonuniform density, and r depends on position. Nonetheless,
commonly accepted values for g are:
g = 32.2 ft/s2 = 386.4 in/s2
= 9.81 m/s2
Units
System length mass force time
English foot, ft slug==lb-sec 2 /ft pound, lb second, s
metric (SI) meter, m kilogram, kg Newton==kg-m/s 2 , N second, s
Remark: the relationship among these units is governed by
f=ma. By selecting 3 fundamental units, a 4th “derived” unit can
be obtained. The derived units are:
f 1 lb
English system: 1 slug = = 2 Suggestion: Avoid
a 1 ft/s slugs and simply
work with
or ... 1 lb = (1 slug )(1 ft/s 2 ) fundamental units.
1 Newton = ma = 1 kg ⋅ 1 m/s
2
metric (SI):
Unit Conversions
If p=expression, to change the units of p, multiply the
r.h.s. by dimensionless factors of unity until the desired units
are obtained.
e.g., Convert the velocity v = 10 m/s to English units.
1 ft 0.3048 m
Since 1 ft = 0.3048 m, = =1
0.3048 m 0.3048 m
m m 1 ft
v = 10 ⋅ 1 = 10 ⋅ = 32 .808 ft/s ⇐
s s 1 0.3048
42 43 m
=1
Prefixes
Useful to reduce numbers to manageable size,
especially SI units.
factor prefix symbol
109 giga G
106 mega M
103 kilo k
10-3 milli m
10-6 micro μ
10-9 nano n
Units
System length mass force time
2
English foot, ft slug==lb-sec /ft pound, lb second
2
metric (SI) meter, mkilogram, kg Newton==kg-m/s second
Remark: It has unfortunately become customary for
people (lay people especially) to report weight in
kilograms. When reported in kilograms, the word weight
technically means mass. In Statics, numbers reported in
kilograms are called masses.
Numerical calculations
Dimensional Homogeneity:
In addition to being numerically correct, an equation must
also be dimensionally correct. Always carry units along with
your calculations.
Accuracy:
You cannot create accuracy with your calculations.
e.g., 12.34 * 12.3 = 151.782
In lengthy calculations, retain one or two extra significant
digits*. Your final results should be reported with the same
accuracy as your data (in this case ... 152.)
* Occasional exceptions to this.
example 1
• convert 175 lb/ft3 to SI units:
• convert 6 ft/hr to SI units:
• convert 1.13 kN-m to English units:
A:
a) 27.5 kN/m3
b) 0.508 mm/s
c) 833 ft-lb
example 2
Two steel spheres with 100 mm diameter are placed
beside one another at the earth’s surface. Compute the
gravitational force W (weight) and the force of mutual
attraction F in Newtons.
The unit weight of steel is
γ = 0.284 lb/in3
A: W = 40.3 N, F = 1.13 (10-7) N
HW problems (Sections 1.1-1.6 ):
1. At sea level the weight density (weight per unit volume)
of water is approx. 62.4 lb/ft3. Use this value to determine
the mass density of water in kg/m3. A: 1000 kg/m3.
2. A pressure transducer measures a value of 300 lb/in2.
Determine the value of the pressure in Pascals. A Pascal
(Pa) is one Newton (N) per meter squared. A: 2.07(10)6 Pa.
3. In the equation T = Iω2 / 2, the term I is in kg-m2 and ω
is in s-1.
a) What are the SI units of T? A: kg-m2/s2 or N-m.
b) If the value of T is 100 when I is in kg-m2 and ω is
in s-1, what is the value of T when it is expressed in U.S.
Customary units? A: 73.8 slug-ft2/s2.