STATIC OF RIGID BODIES:

FORCE AS A VECTOR
EE 202: ENGINEERING MECHANICS

This material is for use and distribution only within the

EE 202: ENGINEERING MECHANICS
PROPERTIES OF A FORCE
A FORCE REPRESENTS THE 𝟏𝟎𝒌𝑵
ACTION OF ONE BODY ON
ANOTHER AND IS GENERALLY 𝟑𝟎°
CHARACTERIZED BY ITS
POINT OF APPLICATION, ITS
MAGNITUDE, AND ITS 𝟏𝟎𝒌𝑵
DIRECTION.
𝟑𝟎°
VECTORS
VECTORS ARE DEFINED AS
MATHEMATICAL EXPRESSIONS
POSSESSING MAGNITUDE AND 𝑨
DIRECTION, WHICH ADD
ACCORDING TO THE
PARALLELOGRAM LAW.
𝑩
RESULTANT FORCE
IT IS THE SINGLE EQUIVALENT
FORCE HAVING THE SAME
EFFECT AS THE ORIGINAL 𝑨
FORCES ACTING ON THE
PARTICLE. 𝑪

𝑩
PARALLELOGRAM LAW
THE RESULTANT OF TWO
FORCES IS THE DIAGONAL OF
THE PARALLELOGRAM FORMED 𝑨
ON THE VECTORS OF THESE
FORCES DRAWN TAIL-TO-TAIL. 𝑪

𝑩
TRIANGLE LAW
IF TWO FORCES ARE REPRESENTED BY 𝑩
THEIR FREE VECTORS PLACED HEAD-TO-
TAIL, THEIR RESULTANT VECTOR IS THE 𝑨
THIRD SIDE OF THE TRIANGLE.
𝑪

𝑩
TRIGONOMETRY
LAW OF COSINE: 𝒄 𝑩
𝒂
2 2 2
𝐶 = 𝐴 + 𝐵 − 2𝐴𝐵 cos 𝑐 𝑨
𝒃
LAW OF SINE: 𝑪

sin 𝑎 sin 𝑏 sin 𝑐

= =
𝐴 𝐵 𝐶
ADDITION OF VECTORS
THE ADDITION OF TWO VECTORS IS COMMUTATIVE. 𝑩

𝐴Ԧ + 𝐵 = 𝐵 + 𝐴Ԧ 𝑨

𝑪 𝑨

𝑩 𝐶Ԧ = 𝐴Ԧ + 𝐵
SUM OF VECTORS 𝑶

IF THE VECTORS ARE COPLANAR, THE 𝑷

RESULTANT MAY BE OBTAINED BY USING THE
POLYGON RULE FOR THE ADDITION OF VECTORS
– ARRANGE THE GIVEN VECTORS IN A TIP-TO- 𝑸
TAIL FASHION AND CONNECT THE TAIL OF THE
FIRST VECTOR WITH THE TIP OF THE LAST ONE. 𝑷 𝑸
𝑶 𝑶
𝑷
𝑹
𝑶𝑷 𝑸

𝑸
PRODUCT OF SCALAR & VECTOR
𝑃 + 𝑃 = 2𝑃
n𝑃− have the same 𝑷
direction as P with
magnitude 𝑛𝑃

𝑷
𝟐𝑷 𝟏. 𝟓𝑷 −𝟐𝑷
𝑷
SUBTRACTION OF VECTORS
THE ADDITION OF TWO VECTORS IS COMMUTATIVE.

𝐴Ԧ − 𝐵 = −𝐵 + 𝐴Ԧ 𝑩
𝑨
𝑪
𝑨
𝑨
𝑩 𝐴Ԧ − 𝐵 = 𝐶Ԧ
𝑩
PROBLEM 01
GIVEN TWO POSITION
VECTORS A AND B.
DETERMINE THE
RESULTANT VECTOR
AND ITS DIRECTION
FROM THE POSITIVE
X-AXIS.
 𝟓 𝟒

𝟒𝟓° 𝟔𝟎°

𝟒 𝟓 𝟒

𝟔𝟎° 𝟒𝟓° 𝟔𝟎°

 𝟓 𝟒
𝟓
𝑹

𝟒𝟓° 𝟔𝟎° 𝟒𝟓°

𝟒 𝟓 𝟒

𝟔𝟎° 𝟒𝟓° 𝟔𝟎°

 𝟓 𝟒
𝟓
𝑹

𝟒𝟓° 𝟔𝟎° 𝑹 = 𝟕. 𝟐
𝟒𝟓°

𝟒 𝟓 𝟒

𝟔𝟎° 𝟒𝟓° 𝟔𝟎° 𝟕𝟖°

 𝟓 𝟒
𝟓
𝑹

𝟒𝟓° 𝟔𝟎° 𝑹 = 𝟕. 𝟐
𝟒𝟓°

𝟒 𝟓 𝟒

𝟔𝟎° 𝟒𝟓° 𝟔𝟎° 𝟕𝟖°

FOR THE INTERNAL ANGLE: FOR THE ANGLE (𝜶) :
𝛽 = 45 + 60 sin 105 sin 𝜶
=
𝛽 = 105° 7.1659 5 𝟓
𝜶 = 𝟒𝟐. 𝟑𝟕𝟒𝟓°
FOR THE RESULTANT:
𝐶 2 = 𝐴2 + 𝐵 2 − 2𝐴𝐵 𝑐𝑜𝑠 𝑐 𝟒𝟓° 𝑹
𝑅 2 = (4)2 +(5)2 −2(4)(5) 𝑐𝑜𝑠 105 𝟔𝟎°
𝑅 = 7.1659 𝑢𝑛𝑖𝑡
𝟒 𝜶
FOR THE ANGLE (𝜽) :
𝜽 = 𝟏𝟖𝟎 − 𝟔𝟎 − 𝟒𝟐. 𝟑𝟕𝟒𝟓 𝟔𝟎° 𝜽
𝜽 = 𝟕𝟕. 𝟔𝟐𝟓𝟓°
PROBLEM 02
DETERMINE THE
MAGNITUDE AND
DIRECTION OF THE
RESULTANT OF THE
TWO FORCES USING
THE TRIANGLE RULE.
FOR ANGLE 𝜶: FOR ANGLE 𝜷:

𝜶 = 𝟏𝟖𝟎 − 𝟔𝟎 − 𝟒𝟎 𝒔𝒊𝒏 𝟖𝟎 𝒔𝒊𝒏(𝜷 )

=
𝟑. 𝟑𝟎𝟒𝟎𝒌𝑵 𝟐𝒌𝑵
𝜶 = 𝟖𝟎°
𝜷 = 𝟑𝟔. 𝟓𝟗𝟑𝟕° 𝟑𝒌𝑵
𝟐𝒌𝑵 𝟔𝟎°
FOR THE RESULTANT FORCE: 𝟒𝟎°
𝜷 𝟔𝟎°
𝑪𝟐 = 𝑨𝟐 + 𝑩𝟐 − 𝟐𝑨𝑩 𝒄𝒐𝒔(𝒄) 𝜽
𝑹𝟐 = (𝟐𝒌𝑵)𝟐 +(𝟑𝒌𝑵)𝟐 −𝟐(𝟐𝒌𝑵)(𝟑𝒌𝑵) 𝒄𝒐𝒔(𝟖𝟎) 𝜶
𝑹
𝑹 = 𝟑. 𝟑𝟎𝟒𝟎𝒌𝑵

FOR ANGLE𝜽:
𝜽 = 𝟔𝟎 − 𝟑𝟔. 𝟓𝟗𝟑𝟕
𝜽 = 𝟐𝟑. 𝟒𝟎𝟔𝟑°
RESOLUTION OF FORCES
IT HAS BEEN SHOWN THAT THE 𝑩
RESULTANT OF FORCES ACTING AT
THE SAME POINT (CONCURRENT 𝑨
FORCES) CAN BE FOUND. IN THE SAME
WAY, A GIVEN FORCE, F CAN BE 𝑹
RESOLVED INTO COMPONENTS.
RESOLUTION OF FORCES: CASE 1
WHEN ONE OF THE TWO 𝑸
COMPONENTS, P IS KNOWN: THE 𝑷
SECOND COMPONENT Q IS OBTAINED
USING THE TRIANGLE RULE. JOIN THE
TIP OF P TO THE TIP OF F. THE 𝑹
MAGNITUDE AND DIRECTION OF Q ARE
DETERMINED GRAPHICALLY OR BY
TRIGONOMETRY.
 𝒂′

RESOLUTION OF FORCES: CASE 2

WHEN THE LINE OF ACTION OF EACH COMPONENT
IS KNOWN: THE FORCE R CAN BE RESOLVED INTO
TWO COMPONENTS HAVING LINES OF ACTIONS
ALONG A’ AND B’ USING THE PARALLELOGRAM 𝑷
LAW. FROM THE HEAD OF R, EXTEND A LINE
PARALLEL TO A’ UNTIL IT INTERSECTS B’.
LIKEWISE, A LINE PARALLEL TO B’ IS DRAWN 𝑹
FROM THE HEAD OF R TO THE POINT OF
INTERSECTION WITH A’. THE TWO COMPONENTS
P AND Q ARE THEN DRAWN SUCH THAT THEY
EXTEND FROM THE TAIL OF R TO POINTS OF 𝑸
INTERSECTIONS. 𝒃′
PROBLEM 03
A VERTICAL FORCE OF 100 kN
LOAD IS APPLIED ON THE 𝑩
SYSTEM AS SHOWN. 𝑨 𝟕𝟓°
DETERMINE ITS COMPONENT 𝟔𝟎°
𝟏𝟎𝟎𝒌𝑵
ALONG LINE a’ and b’. 𝒃′

𝒂′
FOR INTERIOR ANGLE:
180 − 75 + 60 = 45

180 − 75 + 45 = 60

FOR COMPONENT OF 100kN:

sin 𝑎 sin 𝑏 sin 𝑐 𝑩 𝟕𝟓°
= =
𝐴 𝐵 𝐶
𝟕𝟓°
sin 45 sin 60 sin 45 sin 75 𝟒𝟓°
= = 𝟏𝟎𝟎𝒌𝑵
100𝑘𝑁 𝐵 100𝑘𝑁 𝐴 𝟔𝟎°
𝑨
𝟔𝟎°
𝒃′
𝐵 = 122.4745𝑘𝑁 𝐴 = 136.6025𝑘𝑁

𝒂′
PROBLEM 04 𝟑𝟎𝟎𝒍𝒃
𝑩

DETERMINE THE 𝟐𝟎° 𝟔𝟎°

COMPONENTS OF
𝒂′
THE FORCE IN a’ 𝑨
AND b’ AXES.

𝒃′
FOR INTERIOR ANGLE:
𝛼 = 180 − (20 + 60)

𝛼 = 100

FOR COMPONENT A and B

sin 𝑎 sin 𝑏 sin 𝑐

= =
𝐴 𝐵 𝐶 𝑨
sin 60 sin 20 sin 60 sin 100
=
300𝑙𝑏
=
𝐴 𝟐𝟎° 𝟔𝟎°
300𝑙𝑏 𝐵
𝟑𝟎𝟎𝒍𝒃
𝐵 = 118.4793𝑙𝑏 𝐴 = 341.1474𝑙𝑏
𝟏𝟎𝟎°
𝑩
𝟐𝟎° 𝟔𝟎°

𝒂′
 RECTANGULAR COMPONENT OF A VECTOR
𝑭𝒚 = 𝑭𝒚 ෡𝒋
𝑭𝒙 , 𝑭𝒚 - VECTOR COMPONENTS OF 𝑭 𝑭
𝒊,Ƹ 𝒋Ƹ - UNIT VECTORS OF MAGNITUDE 1 𝑭 = 𝑭𝒙 + 𝑭𝒚
DIRECTED ALONG THE POSITIVE X AND Y
AXES, RESPECTIVELY. 𝑭 = 𝑭𝒙 𝒊 + 𝑭𝒚 𝒋
𝑭𝒙 , 𝑭𝒚 - SCALAR COMPONENTS OF 𝑭
- MAY BE POSITIVE OR NEGATIVE
DEPENDING UPON THE SENSE OF 𝑭𝒙 , 𝑭𝒚 (−𝑭𝒙 , +𝑭𝒚 ) 𝒋෡ (+𝑭𝜽𝒙 , +𝑭𝒚 )

- THE ABSOLUTE VALUES ARE EQUAL TO THE 𝒊෡

MAGNITUDE OF THE COMPONENT FORCES (−𝑭𝒙 , −𝑭𝒚 ) (+𝑭𝒙 , −𝑭𝒚𝑭
)
𝒙 = 𝑭𝒙 𝒊෡
AND 𝑭𝒙 , 𝑭𝒚
 TRIGONOMETRIC FUNCTION:

PROBLEM 05
𝑜 𝑎 𝑜
sin θ = y cos θ = tan θ =
ℎ ℎ 𝑎

DETERMINE THE HORIZONTAL AND

VERTICAL COMPONENT OF THE x
FORCE APPLIED AS SHOWN. 𝑭𝒙

60°
FOR X-COMPONENT: FOR Y-COMPONENT:
𝐹𝑥 𝐹𝑦 500lb
sin 60 = cos 60 =
500𝑙𝑏 500𝑙𝑏 𝑭𝒚
𝐹𝑥 = 433.0127𝑙𝑏 𝐹𝑦 = −250𝑙𝑏
B
𝑭𝒙 = 𝟒𝟑𝟑. 𝟎𝟏𝟐𝟕𝒊 𝑭𝒚 = −𝟐𝟓𝟎𝒋
𝑭𝒙
RESULTANT OF THE FORCES
COMPONENT OF RESULTANT FORCE:
R x = ෍ Fx
𝑩
R y = ෍ Fy
𝑨
RESULTANT FORCE:
2
R= Rx 2
+ Ry
Ry
tan θ = 𝑪
Rx
RESULTANT OF THE FORCES
COMPONENT OF RESULTANT FORCE: 𝑨𝒙 𝑩𝒙
R x = ෍ Fx = 𝑨𝒙 + 𝑩𝒙
𝑩
R y = ෍ Fy = 𝑨𝒚 + 𝑩𝒚 𝑩𝒚
𝑨𝒚 𝑨
NOTE! CONSIDER THE SIGN WHEN ADDING.

RESULTANT FORCE:
2
R= Rx 2
+ Ry 𝑪𝒚
Ry θ 𝑪
tan θ =
Rx
𝑪𝒙
PROBLEM 06
800N
DETERMINE THE RESULTANT OF THE y

FOUR FORCES BELOW. 600N 60°

350N
45°
25°
x
75°

500N
FOR THE COMPONENT OF F=800N: TRIGONOMETRIC FUNCTION:
𝑜 𝑎 𝑜
𝐹𝑥 sin θ = cos θ = tan θ =
cos 45 = 𝐹𝑥 = 565.6854𝑁 ℎ ℎ 𝑎
800𝑁
𝐹𝑦
sin 45 = 𝐹𝑦 = 565.6854𝑁
800𝑁
800N
FOR THE COMPONENT OF P=350N: y

𝑃𝑥 600N 60°
cos 25 = 𝑃𝑥 = 317.2077𝑁
350𝑁 350N
45°
𝑃𝑦 𝑃𝑦 = 147.9163𝑁 25°
sin 25 =
350𝑁 x
75°
FOR THE COMPONENT OF R=500N:
𝑅𝑥
cos 75 = 𝑅𝑥 = −129.4095𝑁
500𝑁
𝑅𝑦 500N
sin 75 = 𝑅𝑦 = −482.9629𝑁
500𝑁
 FOR THE COMPONENT OF S=600N: 2
𝑅= 𝑅𝑥 2 + 𝑅𝑦
𝑆𝑥
sin 60 = 𝑆𝑥 = −519.6152𝑁
600𝑁 𝑅= 233.8684𝑁 2 + 530.6388𝑁 2
𝑆𝑦
cos 60 = 𝑆𝑦 = 300𝑁 𝑅 = 579.8896𝑁
600𝑁

FOR THE RESULTANT FORCE: tan 𝜃 = 𝑅𝑦 /𝑅𝑥

tan 𝜃 = 530.6388𝑁 /233.8684𝑁

𝑅𝑥 = 565.6854𝑁 + 317.2077𝑁
+ −129.4095𝑁 + (−519.6152𝑁) 𝜃 = 66.2149°
𝑅𝑥 = ෍ 𝐹𝑥
𝑅𝑥 = 233.8684𝑁
579.8896N
y
𝑅𝑦 = 565.6854𝑁 + 147.9163𝑁
𝑅𝑦 = ෍ 𝐹𝑦 + −482.9629𝑁 + 300N
𝑅𝑦 = 530.6388𝑁
66.2149°
𝑅 = 233.8684 𝑖 + 530.6388 𝑗Ƹ 𝑁
x
PROBLEM 07
A HOIST TROLLEY IS SUBJECTED TO y

THE THREE FORCES SHOWN. KNOWING

THAT α= 40° , DETERMINE:
(A) THE MAGNITUDE OF FORCE, P P
FOR WHICH THE RESULTANT OF 𝛼
x
THE THREE FORCES IS VERTICAL
(B) THE CORRESPONDING 𝛼
MAGNITUDE OF THE RESULTANT. 200N
100N
FOR THE COMPONENT OF F=200N: FOR VERTICAL RESULTANT FORCE:
𝐹𝑥 = −200𝑁𝑐𝑜𝑠 40 𝐹𝑦 = −200𝑁𝑠𝑖𝑛 40 THE X-COMPONENT IS EQUALS TO ZERO.
𝐹𝑥 = −153.2089𝑁 𝐹𝑦 = −128.5575𝑁 𝑅𝑥 = ෍ 𝐹𝑥 = 0

FOR THE COMPONENT OF R=100N: −153.2089𝑁 + 64.2788𝑁 + 𝑃 = 0

𝑅𝑥 = 100𝑁 sin 40 𝑅𝑦 = −100𝑁 cos 40 𝑃 = 88.9301𝑁

y
𝑅𝑥 = 64.2788𝑁 𝑅𝑦 = −76.6044𝑁

FOR THE COMPONENT OF P:

𝑃𝑥 = 𝑃 𝑃𝑦 = 0 P
x
FOR THE RESULTANT FORCE: 40°

𝑅𝑦 = −128.5575𝑁 + −76.6044𝑁 + 0
𝑅𝑦 = ෍ 𝐹𝑦 40°
𝑅𝑦 = −205.1619𝑁 = 𝑅 100N
200N
𝑅 = −205.1619𝑗Ƹ 𝑁
STATIC OF RIGID BODIES:
FORCE AS A VECTOR
EE 202: ENGINEERING MECHANICS

This material is for use and distribution only within the

EE 202: ENGINEERING MECHANICS