FORCES, MOMENTS AND COUPLES

Force is a pull or a push on a body. The SI unit for measuring force is newton (N)
The types of forces are classified into horizontal, vertical and coplanar forces
Horizontal forces acts in the horizontal direction, are equal in size and in opposite
direction and have a resultant force of zero.
Coplanar force system has all forces acting in one plane
Vertical forces acts in a vertical direction and are equal in size and in opposite
direction and have a resultant force of zero.
Force Couple: a pair of forces which are (i) equal in magnitude, (ii) parallel and (iii) opposite in
direction
The common forces are:

1. Gravitational force
2. Tensional
3. Up thrust
4. Frictional force
5. Magnetic force
6. Centripetal force
7. Cohesive adhesive force
8. Molecular force
9. Electric force
10. Nuclear force
11. Electrostatic force

Effects of force

 It can increase the speed of a moving object

 Make a stationary object start moving.
 Slow down or stop a moving object.
 Change the direction of a moving object.
 Distort (change) the shape and size of an object.

Mass and weight.

Mass is the amount of matter contained in a substance while weight is the pull of gravity on an
object.
The SI unit for mass is the Kg while weight is the newton (N).

Mass is constant regardless of place while weight changes with place.

The relationship between mass and weight is given by the following formula, W = mg where g =
gravitational force.

Differences between mass and weight Mass

Example

An astronaut weighs 900 N on earth. On the moon he weighs 150 N. Calculate the moons’
gravitational strength. (Take g = 10 N/kg).

Solution. Moons’ gravitational strength = weight of astronaut on the moon / mass of astronaut. =
150 / 90 = 1.67 Nkg-1.

Measuring force: We use a spring balance to measure force. A spring balance is an instrument
that uses the extension of a spring to measure forces.

Vector and scalar quantities

A scalar quantity is a quantity which has magnitude (size) only. Examples are distance, mass,
speed

A vector quantity is a quantity which has both magnitude and direction. Examples are
displacement, weight, velocity.

Moment of a force
Moment of a force about a point is the product of the force and the perpendicular distance of its
line of action from the point.

Therefore moment of a force (Nm) = force (N) × perpendicular distance (m)

That is M=F ×d

The principle of moments states that for a system in equilibrium, the sum of clockwise
moments about a point must be equal to the sum of anticlockwise moments about the same point.

Parallel forces in equilibrium.

Note that when a number of parallel forces are in equilibrium,
i. The sum of forces in one direction is equal to the sum of forces in the opposite direction
ii. The sum of anticlockwise moments about any point is equal to the sum of the clockwise
moments about the same point.

Consider the example below:

Centre of gravity and stability

Centre of gravity of a body is defined as the point of application of the resultant force due to the
earth’s attraction on it.
The three states of equilibrium are; stable, unstable and neutral.
Consider the equilibrium of a cone as shown below: