CAT B 1.

1
RCRAFT MAINTENANCE LICENSE COU

MODULE 02 - PHYSICS

LESSON
05
MECHANICS (FORCES,
MOMENTS
AND COUPLES - PART I)

Mechanics
What is Mechanics?
Branch of applied mathematics dealing with motion and forces

producing motion
Machinery as a subject; engineering
Way in which something is done or operated

Cont

SCALAR AND VECTOR QUANTITIES

Quantities are thought of as being either

scalar or vector
Term scalar means that the quantity
possesses magnitude
Scalar
Length
Area
Volume
Speed
Mass
Density
Cont

Cont

Scalar and Vector

Quantities

Vector quantities possess both magnitude

AND direction
Force is a vector quantity

Cont

Cont

Scalar and Vector

Quantities

Cont

Cont

Scalar and Vector

Quantities

TRIANGLE OF FORCES
Two or more forces can be added or

subtracted to produce a Resultant Force

Force is a vector quantity - can be
represented by an arrow, drawn to a scale
representing magnitude and direction.
Triangle of Force

Cont

TRIANGLE OF FORCES

Cont

POLYGON OF FORCES

Cont

POLYGRON OF FORCES

Cont

COPLANAR FORCES

Cont

REVISION
We have learnt
What is Mechanics?
What are Scalar quantities?
What are Vector quantities?

QUESTIONS
Two couples with magnitude F act against

each other. The resultant will be?

What is a vector quantity?
A quantity which has size but no direction is

called a?

LESSON
06

MECHANICS (FORCES, MOMENTS

AND COUPLES - PART II)

EFFECT OF AN APPLIED FORCE

If a Force is applied to a body, it will cause that body to
move or rotate. A body that is already moving will change
its speed or direction.
F = ma
F is the force, m = mass of body and a = acceleration.

EQUILIBRIUMS
If at any stage a system of forces is applied to a
body, such that their resultant is zero, then that body
will not accelerate or change direction. The system
of forces and the body are said to be in the
equilibrium.
Note: This does not mean that there are no forces
acting; it is just that their total resultant or effect is
zero.

RESOLUTION OF FORCES
Two forces can be added to give a single force known
as the Resultant, it is obvious that this single force can be
considered as the addition of the two original forces.

RESOLUTION OF FORCES CONT

The single force can be separated or Resolved into
two components, that are mutually perpendicular.
.

RESOLUTION OF FORCES CONT

By drawing the right-angled triangle, with the single
force F, and by choosing angle relative to a datum,
the two components become F Sin and F Cos .

GRAPHICAL SOLUTIONS
The quantities must be vector quantities.
They must all be the same, i.e. all forces, or all velocities,
etc. (they cannot be mixed-up).
A suitable scale representing the magnitude of the vector
quantity should be selected.
Before drawing a Polygon of vectors, a reference or datum
direction should be defined.

GRAPHICAL SOLUTIONS CONT

To derive a solution (i.e. a resultant), proceed to draw the
lines representing the vectors.
The resultant is determined by measuring the magnitude
and direction of the line drawn from the start point to the
finish point.