CHAPTER 1

Basics of Statics
1.1 Introduction

• Mechanics is a physical science which deals with the state of rest or

motion of rigid bodies under the action of forces.
Mechanics of rigid bodies is divided into two parts: Statics and
Dynamics.
• Statics: deals with the equilibrium of rigid bodies under the action of
forces.
Dynamics: deals with the motion of rigid bodies caused by
unbalanced force acting on them.
The concepts and definitions of Space, Time, Mass, Force, Particle
and Rigid body are basic to the study of mechanics.
1.2 Basic concept of mechanics
Six fundamental concept of mechanics
Space: is the geometric region occupied by bodies whose positions are
described by linear and angular measurements relative to a coordinate
system.
Time: is the measure of the succession of events and is a basic quantity in
dynamics.
Mass: is the quantity of matter in a body. Is the measure of the inertia of
a body, which is its resistance to change of velocity.
Force: is the action of a body on another body. The force tends to move a
body in the direction of its action. The action of a force is characterized by
its magnitude, by the direction of its action, and by its point of
application.
A particle: is a body of negligible dimension. Whose dimensions are
considered to be near zero so that we may analyze it as a mass
concentrated at a point.
Rigid body: when the change in distance b/n any two of its points is
negligible.
1.3 Scalars and Vectors
Scalar quantities: - are physical quantities that can be completely
described (measured) by their magnitude alone. These quantities do not
need a direction to point out their application (Just a value to quantify
their measurability). They only need the magnitude and the unit of
measurement to fully describe them. E.g. Time[s], Mass [Kg], Area [m2],
Volume [m3], Density [Kg/m3], Distance [m], etc.
Vector quantities: - Like Scalar quantities, Vector quantities need a
magnitude. But in addition, they have a direction, and sometimes point
of application for their complete description. Vectors are represented by
short arrows on top of the letters designating them.
E.g. Force[N, Kg.m/s2], Velocity [m/s], Acceleration [m/s2],etc.
Representation of Vectors
A) Graphical representation

B) Algebraic (arithmetic) representation Algebraically

a vector is represented by the components of the
vector along the three dimensions.
E.g.: V = vx i + vy j + vz k , Where vx, vy and vz are
components of the vector V along the x, y and z axes
respectively.
NB: The vectors i, j and k are unit vectors along the
respective axes.
Operations with Vectors
1. Vector Addition or Composition of Vectors
• is the process of adding two or more vectors to get a single vector, a
Resultant.
I. The parallelogram law

II. The Triangle rule

• Trigonometric rules: The resultant of two vectors can be found
analytically from the parallelogram rule by applying the cosine and
the sine rules.
Vector Multiplication: Dot and Cross products
•Dot Product: Scalar Product
A.B = A B cosθ If the two vectors are represented analytically as
A =a x i + a y j + a z k and B = bx i +b y J +bz k , then
A.B = axbx + a yb y + a zbz
•Cross Product: Vector Product
AxB = A B sinθ , perpendicular to the plane formed by A and B If the two vectors
are represented analytically as,
A =ax i + a y j + az k and B =bx i +by J +bz k then the cross product AxB will be the
determinant of the three by three matrix as,

Ax B = (a y b z − a z b y)i + (a z b x − a x b z) j + (a x b y − a y b x)k
1.4 Newton’s Law

F = ma
1.5 Free body diagram
• The diagram of an isolated body with the representation of all
external forces acting on it is called free body diagram.
• The isolation of a body is a tool by which cause and effect are clearly
separated, and by which our attention is clearly focused on the literal
application of a principle of mechanics.
1. Examples of Dot and cross product of vectors
1). Calculate |a × b| when |a| = 2, |b| = 4 and the angle between a and b is θ = 45◦
2). Calculate |a × b| when |a| = 1, |b| = 3 and the angle between a and b is θ = 30◦
1. 2.
2. Vector addition example
Resultant of More than two vectors
Example
Exercise-1
3. Vector decomposition
Count..
Problem -2
Exercise -2
QUIZE
EQUILIBRIUM Q