ME 2560 Statics

Moments of Forces and the Cross Product

Moment of a Force Torque
o The moment (or torque) of a force about a point O is defined as the magnitude of the
force F multiplied by the perpendicular distance from the point to the line of
action of the force d r sin( ) . So, | M O | | F | r sin( )

o The direction of the moment is defined by the right-hand-rule. Let the fingers of your
right hand show the direction of the circulation of F around O, and your thumb
shows the direction of the moment. So, M O | F | r sin( ) k .

Line of
Action

o The moment of F about O can also be calculated by first breaking the force into
components, and then summing the moments of the individual components.
o As an example, consider the force F shown in the diagram. The line of action of the
X-component of F passes through O and, hence, has no moment about O. The line of
action of the Y-component is perpendicular to the position vector r . So the moment
of F may be calculated as

M O | F |cos( ) 0 k | F |sin( ) r k | F |sin( ) r k

X component

Y component

Example l:
Given: Force F 300 i 100 j (lb) is applied at point B.
Find: M A the moment of F about point A.
Solution:

M A 4 300 8 100 k 2000 k (ft-lb)

5 ft.

4 ft.
A
3 ft.
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The Cross Product

Geometric Definition
o The cross product of two vectors is defines as

A B A B sin( ) n
o Here, n is a unit vector perpendicular to the plane
formed by the two vectors A and B .
o The sense of n is defined by the right-hand-rule, that is, the right thumb points in
the direction of n when the fingers of the right hand point from A to B .
Properties of the Cross Product
o Product is not commutative: A B B A
o Product is distributive over addition: A B C A B A C
o Multiplication by a scalar : A B A B
Calculation
o Given two vectors A and B expressed in terms of
mutually perpendicular unit vectors i , j and k , we
calculate the cross product as

A B ax i a y j az k bx i by j bz k

a ybz azby i axbz azbx j axby a ybx k

o The cross product is zero if the two vectors are parallel.
o The cross product may be calculated using determinant form.

i
A B ax
bx

ay
by

az ax
bz
bx

ay
by

az ax
bz
bx

ay
by

az ax
bz
bx

ay
by

az
bz

a ybz azby i axbz azbx j axby a ybx k

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Moment of a Force Using the Cross Product

o The moment of a force about a point O may be calculated using the cross product
MO r F

o Here, r is a position vector from O to any point on the line of action of F .

Example 2:
Given: Force F 100 i 50 j 200 k (lb)
Point A : (3,4,5) (ft)
Find: M O the moment of F about O
Solution:
M O r A/ O F
i

3
4
5
100 50 200

800 250 i 600 500 j 150 400 k

550 i 1100 j 550 k (ft-lb)

Resultant Moment
o As we did with forces, we can define a resultant moment about a point O. This is
defined as the sum of the moments of all the forces about point O.

M O R M O i r i Fi
i

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