1

MECH 182
STATICS /
MECH 106
BASIC MECHANICS
MOMENT OF A FORCE
 What is moment of a force?
2 • The tendency for a body to rotate about a fixed point when a
force is applied and the force is not on the line of the action of
the force is called moment of a force or simply moment
(torque).
• Moment can also be defined as the product of an applied force
F and perpendicular distance d. i.e.
• 𝑀𝑎𝑔𝑛𝑖𝑡𝑢𝑑𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑚𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑴 = 𝑭 × 𝒅, where F is the applied force
and d is the perpendicular distance.
• The unit for moment is N.m (SI) or Ib-ft (US customary system)
 Illustration of Moment
3
 Illustration of Moment
4
 Illustration of Moment
5 • (a) Considering a wrench used to unscrew a bolt. If a force is applied to
the handle of the wrench, it will tend to turn the bolt about point O (or
along the z axis).
• The magnitude of the moment M is directly proportional to the applied
force F and the perpendicular distance or moment arm 𝒅
• (b) If the force F is applied at an angle θ ≠ 90˚ it will be difficult to turn
the bolt since the moment arm 𝑑′ = 𝑑 sin 𝜃 will be smaller than d.
• (c) If the applied force F is along the wrench, its moment arm will be
zero since the line of action of F will intersect the point O (the z axis).
Therefore, the magnitude of the moment will be zero and there will be
no turning.
6 Sign Convention for Moment

• Note: Moment directions may be accounted by using a

stated sign convention. Eg. For clockwise, assign a plus
(+) and counterclockwise, assign a minus (-) and vise
versa.
 Resultant Moment of a System of Forces
7
• If a body is acted upon by a system of forces, the resultant moment
of the forces about point O is the vector sum of the moment of each
force.
• The resultant moment can be written mathematically
as
• (𝑴𝑹 )𝒐 = σ(𝒓 × 𝑭)
• i.e. (𝑴𝑹 )𝒐 = 𝒓𝟏 × 𝑭𝟏 + 𝒓𝟐 × 𝑭𝟐 + (𝒓𝟑 × 𝑭𝟑 )
 Example 1: (a) Determine the moment of the force
8 about point O.
 Example 1(a) solution.
9
+ 𝑀𝑜 = 𝐹 × 𝑑
𝑀𝑜 = 100 𝑁 × 2 𝑚
𝑴𝒐 = 𝟐𝟎𝟎 𝑵. 𝒎 ……ans
 Example 1 (b)
10
 Example 1(b) solution.
11 • ⟳ + 𝑀𝑜 = 𝐹 × 𝑑
• 𝑀𝑜 = 50 𝑁 × 0.75 m
• 𝑴𝒐 = 𝟑𝟕. 𝟓 𝑵. 𝒎
 Example 1 (c)
12
 Example 1(c) solution.
13 • ⟳ +𝑀𝑜 = 𝐹 × 𝑑
• 𝑀𝑜 = 40 𝐼𝑏 × (4 𝑓𝑡 + 2 cos 30° 𝑓𝑡)
• 𝑴𝒐 = 𝟐𝟐𝟗 𝑰𝒃. 𝒇𝒕
 What is the moment of the 40-kN force about point A?
14
 In order to pull out the nail at B, the force F exerted on the handle of
the hammer must produce a clockwise moment of 500 Ib.in about
15 point A. Determine the required magnitude of the force F.
 Solution
16 • 𝑀𝐴 = 500 𝐼𝑏. 𝑖𝑛
• ⟳+ 𝑀𝐴 = 𝐹𝑐𝑜𝑠 30° × 18 + 𝐹𝑠𝑖𝑛 30° × 5 = 500
• 15.588𝐹 + 2.5𝐹 = 500
500
• 𝐹=
15.588+2.5
• 𝑭 = 𝟐𝟕. 𝟔𝟒𝟐 𝑰𝒃
 Example 2: Determine the resultant moment of the four
17 forces acting on the rod.
 Example 2 solution
18
• Moving in the clockwise direction
• ⟳+ 𝑀𝑜 = 𝐹 × 𝑑
• ⟳ + σ 𝑀𝑜 = 𝐹1 × 𝑑1 + 𝐹2 × 𝑑2 + 𝐹3 × 𝐹3 + 𝐹4 × 𝑑4
• ⟳+
σ 𝑀𝑜 = 50 𝑁 × 2 𝑚 + 60 𝑁 × 0 − 20 𝑁 × (3 sin 30° 𝑚) + 40 𝑁 × (4 𝑚 + 3 cos 30°)
• ⟳ + σ 𝑴𝒐 = 𝟑𝟑𝟒 𝑵. 𝒎
 Compute the moment of the 0.4-Ib force about the pivot
O of the wall-switch toggle.
19
 Calculate the moment of the 250-N force on the handle of
20 the monkey wrench about the center of the bolt.
 Moment of a Force in Three Dimension
21
 Cross product of Cartesian Unit Vectors
22
 Cross product of two vectors expressed as a cartesian
23 vector
• 𝐴 = 𝐴𝑥 𝑖 + 𝐴 𝑦 𝑗 + 𝐴𝑧 𝑘
• 𝐵 = 𝐵𝑥 𝑖 + 𝐵𝑦 𝑗 + 𝐵𝑧 𝑘
Therefore the cross product

• 𝐴 × 𝐵 = 𝐴𝑥 𝑖 + 𝐴𝑦 𝑗 + 𝐴𝑧 𝑘 × 𝐵𝑥 𝑖 + 𝐵𝑦 𝑗 + 𝐵𝑧 𝑘
• Cartesian vector form

• 𝐴 × 𝐵 = 𝐴𝑦 𝐵𝑧 − 𝐴𝑧 𝐵𝑦 𝑖 − 𝐴𝑥 𝐵𝑧 − 𝐴𝑧 𝐵𝑥 𝑗 + 𝐴𝑥 𝐵𝑦 − 𝐴𝑦 𝐵𝑥 𝑘

𝑖 𝑗 𝑘
• 𝐴 × 𝐵 = 𝐴𝑥 𝐴𝑦 𝐴𝑧
𝐵𝑥 𝐵𝑦 𝐵𝑧
 Cartesian Vector Formulation
24 • The force F and the distance r can be expressed in a cartesian vector as
• 𝑭𝒙𝒊 + 𝑭𝒚𝒋 + 𝑭𝒛𝒌 and 𝒓𝒙𝒊 + 𝒓𝒚𝒋 + 𝒓𝒛𝒌
• Therefore the moment about O

𝒊 𝒋 𝒌
• 𝑴𝒐 = 𝒓 × 𝑭 = 𝒓𝒙 𝒓𝒚 𝒓𝒛
𝑭𝒙 𝑭𝒚 𝑭𝒛
• Where
• 𝑟𝑥 , 𝑟𝑦 , 𝑟𝑧 are the 𝑥, 𝑦, 𝑧 components of the position vector

• 𝐹𝑥 , 𝐹𝑦 , 𝐹𝑧 are the 𝑥, 𝑦, 𝑧 components of the force vector

• 𝑴𝒐 = 𝒓𝒚 𝑭𝒛 − 𝒓𝒛 𝑭𝒚 𝒊 − 𝒓𝒙 𝑭𝒛 − 𝒓𝒛 𝑭𝒙 𝒋 + 𝒓𝒙 𝑭𝒚 − 𝒓𝒚 𝑭𝒙 𝒌
 In the figure below the force P is of magnitude 150 N and
its direction is as shown. Express P as a vector in terms of
25
the unit vectors 𝑖, 𝑗 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑘 and determine its moment with
respect to the point E.
D E

z y

G F
C
B
P

2m 3m

x
O 5m A
 Solution
26 • Expressing P as a vector
𝑑𝑥 𝑑𝑦 𝑑𝑧
•𝑃=𝑃 𝑖 + 𝑗+ 𝑘
𝑑 𝑑 𝑑

2 2 2
•𝑑= 𝑑𝑥 + 𝑑𝑦 + 𝑑𝑧

• 𝑑 = 52 + 32 + 22 = 6.164
5 3 2
• = 𝑖 − 𝑗 − 𝑘 = 0.811𝑖 − 0.487𝑗 − 0.324𝑘
6.164 6.164 6.164
 Solution
27
• Therefore
• 𝑃 = 150 0.811𝑖 − 0.487𝑗 − 0.324𝑘
• 𝑷 = 𝟏𝟐𝟏. 𝟔𝟓𝒊 − 𝟕𝟑. 𝟎𝟓𝒋 − 𝟒𝟖. 𝟔𝒌
• Moment about point E
• 𝑀𝐸 = 𝑟Ԧ × 𝑃
• 𝑀𝐸 = 5𝑖 × 121.65𝑖 − 73.05𝑗 − 48.6𝑘
• 𝑴𝑬 = 𝟐𝟒𝟑𝒋 − 𝟑𝟔𝟓𝒌
 Example: Two forces act on the rod as shown. Determine
the resultant moment created about the flange at O.
28 express the result as a cartesian vector
 Solution:
29
• Position vectors;
• 𝑟𝐴 = 5𝑗 𝑓𝑡
• 𝑟𝐵 = (4𝑖 + 5𝑗 − 2𝑘) 𝑓𝑡
• Resultant Moment
• 𝑀𝑅 𝑜 = σ 𝑟 × 𝐹 = 𝑟𝐴 × 𝐹1 + 𝑟𝐵 × 𝐹2

𝑖 𝑗 𝑘 𝑖 𝑗 𝑘
•= 0 5 0 + 4 5 −2
−60 40 20 80 40 −30
• 𝑀𝑅 𝑜 = 30𝑖 − 40𝑗 + 60𝑘 𝐼𝑏. 𝑓𝑡
 The force F = (600i +300j -600k) N acts at the end of the
beam. Determine the moment of the force about A.
30
 Determine the resultant moment produce by the forces
𝐹𝑐 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝐹𝐵 about point O.
31
 Moment of a Couple
32
A couple is defined as two parallel forces that have the
same magnitude, but opposite directions, and are
separated by a perpendicular distance d.
 Moment of a Couple
33
• The resultant of the two forces is zero in every direction.
• The only effect is to produce a tendency of rotation.
• A practical application of a couple is turning of a steering
wheel of a car.
34 Scaler formulation of couple moment
• Couple moment 𝑴 = 𝐹 𝑎 + 𝑑 − 𝐹𝑎
• = 𝐹𝑎 + 𝐹𝑑 − 𝐹𝑎
• 𝑴 = 𝑭𝒅
 Vector formulation of couple moment
35
• Couple moment 𝑴 = 𝑟𝐴 × 𝐹 + 𝑟𝐵 × (−𝐹)
• = (𝑟𝐴 −𝑟𝐵 ) × 𝐹
• But from diagram
• 𝑟𝐴 − 𝑟𝐵 = 𝑟
• Therefore: 𝑴=𝒓×𝑭
 Determine the resultant couple moment of the three
couples acting on the plate.
36
37 Solution:
• Couple moment 𝑀 = 𝐹𝑑
• Resultant couple moment on plate
• ⟳ +𝑀𝑅 = 𝐹1 𝑑1 − 𝐹2 𝑑2 + 𝐹3 𝑑3
• = 200 × 4 + 450 × 3 − 300 × 5
• = 950 𝐼𝑏 − 𝑓𝑡
 Determine the resultant couple moment acting on the
38 beam
 Solution
39

• ⟳+𝑀𝑅 = 300 × 5 − 400 × 2 + (200 × 0.2)

• = 740 𝑁. 𝑚
 The grid below is composed of 1 m squares. Determine the resultant
of the forces if the magnitude and its location if the four parallel
40 forces are 𝐹1 = 50 𝑁, 𝐹2 = 75 𝑁, 𝐹3 = 100 𝑁 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝐹4 = 80 𝑁
𝑦

𝐹1
𝐹3
𝐹2
𝐹4
𝑂 𝑥

𝑧
 Solution
• The vector sum of all forces 𝑦
41
• 𝑅 = 𝐹1 + 𝐹2 + 𝐹3 + 𝐹4
𝑅
• 𝑅 = −50𝑗 + 75𝑗 + 100𝑗 − 80𝑗
• 𝑅 = 45𝑗
• The vector sum of the moments of the couples with
𝑥
𝑟𝑧
respect to O. 𝑧 𝑟𝑥

෍ 𝑀𝑜 = 𝑟1 × 𝐹1 + 𝑟2 × 𝐹2 + 𝑟3 × 𝐹3 + (𝑟4 × 𝐹4 )

෍ 𝑀𝑜 = 𝑖 × −50𝑗 + 𝑖 + 3𝑘 × 75𝑗 + 3𝑖 + 2𝑘 × 100𝑗 + 3𝑖 + 4𝑘 × (−80𝑗)

= −105𝑖 + 85𝑘 𝑁𝑚
 The location of R
42 • The location of R can be determine using the vector
• 𝑟 = 𝑟𝑥 𝑖 + 𝑟𝑧 𝑘
• Therefore the single force R must be located so that its moment about O
• 𝑀𝑜 = 𝑟 × 𝑅
• −105𝑖 + 85𝑘 = (𝑟𝑥 𝑖 + 𝑟𝑧 𝑘) × 45𝑗
• −105𝑖 + 85𝑘 = (45𝑟𝑥 𝑘 + 45𝑟𝑧 𝑖)
• Solving the vector equation
• 45𝑟𝑥 = 85
• 𝒓𝒙 = 𝟏. 𝟖𝟗 𝒎
• −45𝑟𝑧 = −105
• 𝒓𝒛 = 𝟐. 𝟑𝟑 𝒎
 The square foundation mat supports the four columns
shown. Determine the magnitude and point of
43 application of the resultant of the four loads.
 Solution
44 • The vector sum of all forces
• 𝑅 = 𝐹1 + 𝐹2 + 𝐹3 + 𝐹4
• 𝑅 = −40𝑗 − 20𝑗 − 12𝑗 − 8𝑗
• 𝑅 = −80𝑗
• The vector sum of the moments of the couples with
respect to O.

෍ 𝑀𝑜 = 𝑟1 × 𝐹1 + 𝑟2 × 𝐹2 + 𝑟3 × 𝐹3 + (𝑟4 × 𝐹4 )

෍ 𝑀𝑜 = 0 × −40𝑗 + 4𝑖 + 10𝑘 × −20𝑗 + 10𝑖 × −12𝑗 + 10𝑖 + 5𝑘 × (−8𝑗)

= 240𝑖 − 280𝑘 𝑁𝑚
 The location of R
• The location of R can be determine using the vector
45
• 𝑟 = 𝑟𝑥 𝑖 + 𝑟𝑧 𝑘
• Therefore the single force R must be located so that its moment about O
• 𝑀𝑜 = 𝑟 × 𝑅
• 240𝑖 − 280𝑘 = 𝑟𝑥 𝑖 + 𝑟𝑧 𝑘 × −80𝑗
• 240𝑖 − 280𝑘 = (−80𝑟𝑥 𝑘 + 80𝑟𝑧 𝑖)
• Solving the vector equation
• 80𝑟𝑥 = 280
• 𝒓𝒙 = 𝟑. 𝟓𝟎 𝒇𝒕
• 80𝑟𝑧 = 240
• 𝒓𝒛 = 𝟑. 𝟎𝟎 𝒇𝒕
 The three parallel bolting forces act on the circular plate. If the forces at
A, B and C have magnitudes 200 Ib, 163 Ib and 223 Ib respectively,
46 determine the magnitude and the point of application of the resultant
force.
 If 𝐹𝐴 = 40 𝑘𝑁 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝐹𝐵 = 35 𝑘𝑁 determine the magnitude of
47 the resultant force and specify the location of its point of
application on the slab.
48 Questions
49

Assignment Two