Engineering Physics

The objective of this course is to convey the basic physical concepts that lie behind
mechanical engineering. The combination of basic Physics and Mechanics will lead to
innovation and invention. This is the identification of a well trained and groomed
MECHANICAL ENGINEER.

Instructor
Engr. M. Saqib Hameed

Department of Mechanical Engineering,

HITEC University – Taxila
Tuesday 20th September, 2011
 Course Contents and Weekly Schedule
1. Introduction to Units Systems
i. Units in different systems of all terms used in Mechanical Engineering Week 1
ii. The mutual conversions of units
iii. Dimensionless quantities
iv. Dimensional analysis to derive and verify formulas
2. Vectors
i. Vectors and their Representation Week 2
ii. Components of a vector in space, in Cartesian & polar co-ordinates.
iii. Scalar & Vector product with examples.
Vectors: (Continued)
i. Scalar Triple Product Week 3

ii. Extensive Practice of solving some real time problems using vectors
3. Centroid/Areas
i. The concept of moment and difference between Centroid and Center of Gravity
Week 4
ii. Concept of First Moment of Area
iii. Calculating Centroids of different regular and irregular shapes normally encountered in
mechanical engineering.
4. Moment of Inertia
i. Second moment of area, concept and physical significance of moment of inertia Week 5 & 6
ii. Calculating Moments of Inertia about different axis and its significance, numerical
problems
iii. Significance of polar moment of inertia.
Sessional Exam - 1
Solution of Sessional – I Exam and Review of Moment of Inertia with more Examples Week 8

5. Simple Harmonic Motion

i. Simple Harmonic Motion and its significance in Mechanical Engineering. Week 9
ii. Calculating instantaneous displacement, velocity and acceleration in SHM.
iii. Connections b/w Uniform Circular Motion & SHM
iv. Energy Conservation in SHM
v. Pendulum and its types
Simple Harmonic Motion (Continued) Week 10
i. Connections b/w Uniform Circular Motion & SHM
ii. Energy Conservation in SHM
iii. Pendulum and its types
6. Waves and Oscillations Week 11 & 12
i. Waves and Oscillations,
ii. Free Oscillation of systems with once degree of freedom.
iii. Classical wave equation
iv. Transverse mode for continuous string
7. Electrostatic & Magnetism: Week 13
i. Coulomb's Law, Gauss’s Law,
ii. Electric Field, Magnetic Field & Force in conductors.
Sessional Exam- II Week 14
8. Modern Physics: Week 15 & 16
i. Photoelectric Effects, Compton Effect, Atomic Spectra, Electronic Microscope & Telescope,
ii. Nuclear Forces, Optical Physics, Convex & Concave Lenses, Fringes, Constructive & Destructive
Interference.

Presentation of Topics Assigned from the Modern Physics Week 17

Final Exam Week

18
 Course Duration Credit Hours
v 18 Weeks v 2 Credit Hours

Recommended Books
vFundamentals of Physics by Resnick, Haliday, Crane, 8th Edition
vPhysics by Tippens (7th Edition)
vPhysics, Principle with Applications by Douglas C. Giancoli, 6th Edition
vAll books of R.C Hibbeller on Mechanics (For Basic Concepts of Centrids and Moment of
Inertia only)
vAny other book available in library may be consulted for contents covered in class

Evaluation Criteria
vPopup Quizzes (4 minimum) ………………………….…………………………………… 15%
vRandom Assignments (As many as required)………………………….……………….5%
vFirst Mid-Term Exam [1 hr]…………………………………………………..……………...15%
vSecond Mid-Term Exam [1 hr]………………………………………………..………….….15%
vFinal Exam…………………………………………………………………………………………...50%
 F u n d a m e n ta l U n its

v Every quantity is measured in terms of some arbitrary, but internationally

accepted units, called fundamental units.
v From mechanical point of view, all physical quantities are expressed in
terms of following three fundamental quantities.

1. Length 2. Mass 3. Time

Derived Units
v Some units are expressed in terms of fundamental units known as derived
units, e.g. area, velocity, acceleration and pressure etc.
 System of Units
v There are four system of units, which are commonly used & universally
recognized,

1. C.G.S Units 2. F.P.S Units

3. M.K.S Units 4. S.I Units

C.G.S Units
v In this system, the fundamental units of length, mass and time are
centimeter, gram and second respectively.
vThe C.G.S units are known as absolute units or physicists units.

o Example & Application: Laboratory Scale, scientist working in labs, dealing

with small quantities and distances in cm and mass in grams.
o Dyne, unit for force that, acting on a mass of one gram, increases its
velocity by one centimeter per second
 F.P.S Units
v In this system, the fundamental units of length, mass and time are foot,
pound and second respectively.
vThey have two variants,
1. American Version 2. British Version

o Example & Application: Neither scheme is used by scientists nowadays. F.P.S

units are used by general public especially in USA.

M.K.S Units
v In this system, the fundamental units of length, mass and time are meter,
kilogram and second respectively.
vThe M.K.S units are known as Engineering Units.

o Example & Application: M.K.S Units are mostly used by Engineers all over
the world.
 International System of Units (SI Units)
v The 11th general conference of weights & measurements have
recommended a unified and systematically constituted system of
fundamental & derived units.
v In this system of units, the fundamental units are meter (m), Kilogram (kg)
and Second (s).
Inch/Metric Conversion
Metric Size

Inch Size Millimeter Centimeter Decimeter Meter

(mm) (cm) (dm) (m)

1 in 25.4 2.54 0.254 0.0254

1 ft 304.8 30.48 3.048 0.3048
1 yd 914.4 91.44 9.144 0.9144
 Second
One second is the time needed for 9,192,631,770 vibrations of a
cesium atom.
Meter
One meter is the length of path traveled by a light wave in a
vacuum in a time interval of 1/299,792,458 second.
Leap Second
This measure of time tends to drift ahead of mean solar time,
(1/86,400 of a day) the National Bureau of Standards periodically
inserts a leap second, usually once a year on December 31.

Therefore, the last minute of each year often contains 61 seconds, rather
than 60 seconds.
 Prefixes used with basic units

Prefix Meaning Multiplier Symbol

Micro One-Millionth .000001 (µ)
Milli One-Thousandth .001 (m)
Centi One-Hundredth .01 (c)
Deci One-Tenth .1 (d)
Deka Ten 10 ( da )
Hecto One Hundred 100 (h)
Kilo One Thousand 1000 (k)
Mega One Million 1000,000 (M)
Prefixes used with basic units
 Scientific Notations

0.0001 = 10-4 2.34 x 10-4 = 0.000234

0.001 = 10-3 2.34 x 10-3 = 0.00234
0.01 = 10-2 2.34 x 10-2 = 0.0234
0.1 = 10-1 2.34 x 10-1 = 0.234
1 = 100 2.34 x 100 = 2.34
10 = 101 2.34 x 101 = 23.4
100 = 102 2.34 x 102 = 234.0
1000 = 103 2.34 x 103 = 2340.0
10, 000 = 104 2.34 x 104 = 23, 400.0

0.0002 x 900 = (2.0 x 10-4 )(9.0 x 102) = 18 x 10-2

0.008/400 = 8 x 10-3/4 x 102 = 8/4 x 10 -3-2 = 2.0 x 10-5

 Conversion of Units
vFind out,

o Speed in meters per second equivalent to 55 miles per hour.

1 mi = 1609 m 1 hour = 3600 sec

o The volume in cubic centimeters of a tank that holds 16 gallons of gasoline.

1 gallon = 231 cubic inch 1 inch = 2.54 cm
Dimensional Analysis
v We can convert all the derived units into three fundamental dimensions
Mass, Length and Time, (M, L & T).
v There are two purposes of dimensional analysis,

1) To the check whether a formula is correct or not, we can do so by

checking the dimensions of both sides (must be dimensionally consistent)
Examples:
F = mv2/r S = Vit+½ at2

2) To derive a formula:
Example: To keep an object moving in a circle at constant speed requires a
force called “Centripetal Force”, depends on

i. Mass of object ‘m’

ii. Its velocity ‘v’
iii. Radius of its circular path ‘r’

Carry out its dimensional analysis to derive its formula.

 Plane Angle, θ
A plane angle, θ, made up of the lines from two points meeting at a vertex, is defined
by the arc length of a circle subtended by the lines and by the radius of that circle, as
shown below. The dimensionless unit of plane angle is the radian, with 2π radians in a
full circle.

Ѳ = l/R (Radian)
2π rad = 360o
 Solid Angle, Ω
The Solid Angle Ω is defined as, the opening from the tip of a cone that is
subtended by a segment of area on the spherical surface, Two-dimensional
angle in three-dimensional space
Ω = A/R2 (sr)

Just as there are 2π rad in a complete circle, there are 4π sr in a complete

sphere.
Ω = A/R2 = 4πR2/R2 = 4π sr
(Independent of distance from Source)
 Thank You!
See you next week