Mechanics is that branch of the physical sciences concerned with the behavior of bodies subjected to the

action of forces. The subject of mechanics is divided into two parts:

• statics - the study of objects in equilibrium (objects either at rest or moving with a constant
velocity).
• dynamics - the study of objects with accelerated motion.

The subject of dynamics is often itself divided into two parts:

• kinematics - treats only the geometric aspects of the motion.

• kinetics - analysis of forces causing the motion.

In this module, we will study the kinematics of a particle - recall that a particle has a mass but negligible
size and shape. Therefore, we limit discussion to those objects that have dimensions that are of no
consequence in the analysis of the motion. Such objects may be considered as particles, provided motion
of the body is characterized by motion of its mass center and any rotation of the body is neglected.

Idealizations
Mathematical models or idealizations are used in mechanics to simplify the theory. The more common
ones, in order of sophistication, are:

• Particle—a particle has a mass but a size that can be neglected i.e., the geometry of the body is
ignored. A particle is often represented by a point in space.
• Rigid Body—a rigid body has a mass and a size (shape) but it is assumed that any changes in
shape can be neglected i.e., the geometry of the body is taken into account but any deformations
(changes in shape) are ignored. Consequently, the material properties of the body can be
ignored. A rigid body is often represented as a collection of particles in which all the particles
remain at a fixed distance from each other before and after applying a load.
• Deformable or Elastic Body—a deformable body has a mass, a size (shape) and the
deformations (changes in shape) of the body are taken into account. Hence the material
properties of the body must be considered in describing the behavior of the body.
• Concentrated Force—A concentrated force represents the effect of a loading which is assumed
to act at a point on a body. This idealization requires that the area over which the load is applied
is very small compared to the overall size of the body e.g., contact force between wheel and
ground.

Newton’s Three Laws of Motion

Engineering mechanics is formulated on the basis of Newton’s three laws of motion, the validity of which
is based on experimental observation. Newton’s laws apply to the motion of a particle as measured from
a nonaccelerating (inertial) reference frame.

• First Law—a particle originally at rest or moving in a straight line with constant velocity, will
remain in this state provided the particle is not subjected to an unbalanced force.
• Second Law—a particle acted upon by an unbalanced force F experiences an acceleration a
that has the same direction as the force and a magnitude directly proportional to the force
i.e. F = ma
• Third Law—The mutual forces of action and reaction between two particles are equal,
opposite and collinear.
Newton’s Law of Gravitational Attraction
Shortly after formulating his three laws of motion,Newton postulated a law governing the gravitational
attraction between any two particles.Stated mathematically,

F=Gm1m2r2
where:
F = force of gravitation between two particles
G = Universal constants of gravitation
m1, m2 = mass of each of the two particles
r = distance between two particles
Mass and Weight

• Mass is a (scalar) property of matter that does not change from one location to another. In
other words, mass is an absolute quantity
• Weight is a force (and hence has a magnitude and direction) which refers to the gravitational
attraction of the earth on a quantity of mass m . Weight is not an absolute quantity. Its
magnitude depends on the elevation at which the mass is located. We write the magnitude of
weight as W = mg where g is termed the acceleration due to gravity.

GENERAL PROCEDURE FOR ANALYSIS

• The most effective way to learn engineering mechanics is to solve problems.

• You must present your work in a logical and orderly manner as follows:
o Read the problem carefully and try to establish a link between the actual physical
situation and the appropriate part of the theory studies.
o Draw any necessary diagrams and tabulate the problem data.
o Apply the relevant principles.
o Solve the necessary equations algebraically, as far as practical, then, making
sure they are dimensionally homogeneous, use a consistent set of units and
complete the solution numerically. Report the answer with no more significant
figures than the accuracy of the given data.
o Study the answer and see if it makes sense physically—in the context of the
physical problem.

Scalars and Vectors

Most of the physical quantities in mechanics can be represented by either scalars or vectors:

• A scalar is a real number e.g., mass, time, volume and length are represented by scalars.
• A vector has both magnitude and direction e.g., force, velocity and acceleration are vectors.

Vector Operations

1. Multiplication or Division of a Vector by a Scalar

The product of a vector A and a scalar a is a vector aA with magnitude |aA| = |a| |A|. The direction is the
same as that of A if a is positive and opposite to that of A if a is negative.
2. Vector Addition
Two vectors A and B can be added to form a resultant vector R = A + B by using the parallelogram law. If
the two vectors are collinear (both vectors have the same line of action), the resultant is formed by an
algebraic or scalar addition.
 3. Resolution of a Vector
A vector may be resolved into components having known lines of action by using the parallelogram law.

Vector Addition

• Velocity and acceleration is a vector quantity since it has a specified magnitude and direction.
Consequently, velocities or accelerations are added together or resolved into components using the rules of
vector algebra.
• Often the magnitude of a resultant velocity or acceleration can be determined from the law of cosines, while
its direction is determined from the law of sines:

Cartesian Vectors
A Cartesian coordinate system is often used to solve problems in three dimensions. The coordinate
system is right-handed which means that the thumb of the right hand points in the direction of the
positive z-axis when the right hand fingers are curled about this axis and directed from the positive x
toward the positive y-axis.

• The unit vector from a vector A is given by A A where A ≠ 0 is the magnitude of

vector A. The unit vector is dimensionless and defines the direction of vector A.

• The positive directions of the x, y, z axes are defined by the Cartesian unit vectors i, j, k,
respectively. Consequently, any vector A with scalar components Ax , Ay and Az can be

written in the Cartesian vector form A=Axi+Ayj+Azk

• The magnitude of vector A is given by |A|=A=Ax2+Ay2+Az2

• The direction of vector A is defined by the angles α, β and γ measured between the tail
of A and the positive x, y, z axes located at the tail of A.

• The angles α, β and γ are found from their direction

cosines c o s α = A x A , c o s β = A y A , c o s γ = A z A , c o s 2 α + c o s 2 β + c o s 2 γ = 1

• This means that only two of the angles α, β and γ have to be specified—the third can be found
from cos2α + cos2β + cos2γ = 1.
Addition and Subtraction of Cartesian Vectors

• To find the resultant of a concurrent force system, express each force as a Cartesian vector and add
the i, j, k components of all the forces in the system.

Position Vectors
• The position vector r is defined as a fixed vector which locates a point in space relative to
another point. For example, from the origin of coordinates O, the point in space P (x, y, z) has
position vector r =xi + yj + zk.

• More generally, the position vector may be directed from point A to point B in space. In this case, the
position vector is again denoted by r (or sometimes rAB ) and is given by rAB = rB − rA where rB and rA are
the position vectors of A and B from the origin of coordinates O. For example, if A (xA , yA , zA) and B (xB , yB ,
zB ) then
rA =xAi + yAj + zAk, rB = xBi + yBj + zBk, rAB = (xB − xA)i + (yB − yA)j + (zB − zA)k.