Dr.

Hossam Hammad

Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc.

 1- Introduction
(Scalar and Vectors Quantities)
What is Mechanics:
Mechanics can be defined as that science which
describes and predicts the conditions of rest or motion
of bodies under the action of forces.

deformable
rigid bodies fluids
bodies

Statics Dynamics
Agenda
Statics

Scalar Quantities

Vector Quantities

Vector Operations

Applications of Dot and Cross products

 Statics
Statics is a branch of mechanics that deals
with the equilibrium of bodies that are
either …..

at rest (zero velocity)

OR

move with a constant velocity (zero

acceleration)
 Scalar Quantities

• A scalar is a quantity that has only

magnitude, either positive or negative.

• For example;
mass, length, area, volume and speed
 Vector Quantities
• A vector is a quantity that has both a
magnitude and a direction.
• For example;
weight, force, moment, position, velocity
and acceleration
• A vector is represented graphically tip
by an arrow; the start point is at the
tail and the end point is at the tip
tail
 Vector Operations
1- Vector Addition and Subtraction

For vectors in one

dimension, simple
addition and subtraction
are all that is needed.
 Vector Operations
1.a. Vector Addition (2D)
If the motion is in two dimensions (2D), the
situation is somewhat more complicated.

Here, the actual travel paths are

at right angles to one another;
we can find the displacement by
using the Pythagorean Theorem.
Adding the vectors in the opposite order
gives the same result:
• Even if the vectors are not at right
angles, they can be added graphically
by using the tail-to-tip method.
 • A second way to add vectors is the parallelogram
method. The resultant is the diagonal drawn from the
common origin.

• The tail-to-tip and parallelogram methods are shown

in Figure, and it is clear that both give the same result
1.b. Vector Subtraction

The negative of a vector is a vector which

has the same magnitude but opposite in
direction.

In order to subtract vectors, we find the negative of the

vector, then we add them.
 Vectors Components
Any vector can be expressed as the sum
of two other vectors, which are called its
components. Usually the other vectors are
chosen so that they are perpendicular to
each other.
If the components are perpendicular,
they can be found using trigonometric
functions. V = V cos θ
x
Vy = V sin θ
• θ (the direction) is
measured ccw from
the +ve direction of
the x-axis
On the other hand, the V  Vx2  Vy2
magnitude and direction of a
Vy
vector can be found in terms tan  
of its component Vx
 y y
R R
Ry Ry
φ θ θ
Rx x Rx x
θ = 180o – tan-1 Ry /Rx θ = tan-1 Ry /Rx

y y
θ θ Rx
Rx
x φ x
φ Ry
Ry R
R

θ= 180o + tan-1 Ry /Rx θ = 360o – tan-1 Ry /Rx

Example 1.1.:
A mail carrier leaves the post office and
drives 22.0 km in a northerly direction.
She then drives in a direction 60.0° south
of east for 47.0 km. What is her
displacement from the post office?
Solution:
• For D1
D1x = 0, D1y = 22.0 km

• For D2
D2x = 47 cos (60) = + 23.5 km,
D2y = - 47 sin (60) = - 40.7 km
The resultant vector, D
Dx = D1x + D2x = + 23.5 km
Dy = D1y + D2y = -18.7 km

Hence
 Unit Vectors
• A vector has a magnitude (A) and a direction which
known as unit vector (u)
A=Au

• Unit vectors have magnitude 1.

• Using unit vectors, any vector
can be written in terms of its components:
Example 1.2.:
Write the vectors of example 1.1. in unit
vector notation and perform the addition

D1  0 î  22 ĵ and D2  23.5 î  40.7 ĵ

D  D1  D2  23.5 î  18.7 ĵ

Hence the components of the vector are

Dx = + 23.5 km and Dy = D1y + D2y = -18.7 km
 Vector Operations
2.a. Multiplication and Division of
a vector by a scalar
• If a vectors is multiplied by a +ve scalar, its
magnitude is increased by that amount.

• Multiplying a vector by a -ve scalar will change its

direction
 Vector Operations
2.a. Multiplication a vector by a
another vector

i. Scalar Product (dot product)

Therefore, we can write for

the work done :
  
C  A.B  AB cos
If θ = 0 then C=AB

If θ = 90° then C=0

If θ = 180 then C=-AB

• scalar product of unit vectors which are
perpendicular to each other will be zero
î.î  1 ĵ. ĵ  1 k̂.k̂  1

î. ĵ  0 ĵ.k̂  0 k̂.î  0

Because cos -θ = cos θ
   
A.B  B.A
• Another form of scalar multiplication is
given as the product of the vectors’
Cartesian components as follows
 
 
A.B  Ax iˆ  Ay ˆj  Az kˆ  B x iˆ  B y ˆj  B z kˆ 
 Ax B x  Ay B y  Az B z
Example 1.3.
The force shown has magnitude FP = 20 N and
makes an angle of 30° to the ground. Calculate
the work done by this force, using the dot
product, when the wagon is dragged 100 m
along the ground.
Solution:
Fp  Fx î  Fy ˆj  Fp cos (30) î  Fp sin (30) ˆj
 17 î  10 ĵ

d  100 î

W  Fp  d  (17 î  10 ĵ)  100 î

 (17  100)  (10  0)  1700 J
Example 1.4.:
Find the angle between the vectors
A  8iˆ  3 ˆj and B  5iˆ  7 ˆj
Solution:
 
A.B  Ax Bx  Ay B y  Az Bz
 8   5  3   7  0  0  61
Also we have
 
A.B  A B cos  82  32   52   72 cos
 8.544  8.60 cos  73.5 cos
Thus   61 
  cos 
1
  146.1
o

 73.5 
 ii. Vector Product (Cross product)
  
C  A B
• The magnitude of the cross product
is :

• The direction of the cross product is

defined by a right-hand rule:
 C=A B B
î  î  0 ĵ ĵ  0 k̂  k̂  0 sinθ

θ A

î  ĵ  k̂ ĵ k̂  î k̂  î  ĵ

ĵ î  k̂ k̂  ĵ  î î  k̂   ĵ

The cross product can also be written in
determinant form:
Some properties of the cross product:
 Example 1.5.:
(a) Find the cross product of the two vectors
A  8iˆ  3 ˆj and B  5iˆ  7 ˆj
(b) Verify that
Solution:
 
A B   B  A  
   
 
(a) A  B  8iˆ  3 ˆj   5iˆ  7 ˆj
 40 iˆ  iˆ  56 iˆ  ˆj  15 ˆj  iˆ  21 ˆj  ˆj
 0  56 kˆ  15 kˆ  0  41 kˆ
   
 
(b) B  A   5iˆ  7 ˆj  8iˆ  3 ˆj
 40 iˆ  iˆ  15 iˆ  ˆj  56 ˆj  iˆ  21 ˆj  ˆj
 0  15 kˆ  56 kˆ  0  41 kˆ
Example 1.6.:
Suppose the vector r is in the xz plane, and
is given by r = (1.2 m) + (1.2 m)
Calculate the torque vector  if F = (150 N) .

Solution:

  r  F  (1.2 iˆ  1.2 kˆ)  (150iˆ)

iˆ ˆj kˆ
 1.2 0 1.2  0 iˆ  180 ˆj  0 kˆ m.N
150 0 0
 Applications of Dot and
Cross products
1- Application of dot product: Projection

You can think of the Projection of A onto B as a

shadow of A

 Scalar Projection of vector A onto B:

Solution:
 Applications of Dot and
Cross products
2- Application of cross product: area of a Parallelogram

If we locate two vectors (U and V) such that they form adjacent

sides of a parallelogram, then the area of the parallelogram is
given by:

Area = | U x V | = U V sin
 Example 1.8.:
If P = (1,0,0), Q = (0,1,0) , and R = (0,0,1) are the
vertices of a triangle. Find the area of the triangle
and the perpendicular unit vector to its plan.
Solution:
 The area of the triangle is half the
area of the parallelogram

The area of the parallelogram with the

adjacent sides PQ and PR

PQ = Q – P =(0,1,0) – (1,0,0) = - i + j
PR = R – P =(0,0,1) – (1,0,0) = - i + k
 Triple Products
1- Triple Scalar Product:
The triple scalar product of vectors A, B, and C is:

A . (B x C)

For A = Ax i + Ay j + Az k , B = Bx i + By j + Bz k, and C
= Cx i + Cy j + Cz k:
 Triple Products
1- Triple Scalar Product: volume of a Parallelepiped
The volume of a parallelepiped with adjacent edges given by vectors
A, B, and C is:

V = Area of the base x h

= |A . (B x C)|

Where, the area of the base parallelogram is: |B x C|

and the height (h) is: A cos 

• If the volume of the parallelepiped is Zero, then the vectors lie in

the same plane (they are coplanar)
Example 1.8.:
Show that the vectors A = i + 4 j – 7 k, B = 2 i – j+ 4 k, and C
= -9 j + 18 k are coplanar.

Solution:

The volume of the parallelepiped is Zero, then A, B, and C are

coplanar
 Triple Products
2- Triple Vector Product:
The triple vector product of vectors A, B, and C is:

A x (B x C) = B (A . C) – C (A . B)

Which is known as “bac-cab” rule

 Faculty of
Engineering