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Engineering Mechanics
Lecture 2
Engr. Danish Saeed
Lecturer
Department of Civil Engineering
KFUEIT, RYK
System of Units
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System of Units
• The four basic quantities—length, time, mass, and force—are not all
independent from one another; in fact, they are related by Newton’s
second law of motion, F = ma.
• Because of this, the units used to measure these quantities cannot
all be selected arbitrarily.
• The equality F = ma is maintained only if three of the four units,
called base units, are defined and the fourth unit is then derived
from the equation.
System International (SI)
• The International System of units, abbreviated SI , is a modern
version of the metric system which has received worldwide
recognition.
• As shown in Table 2–1, the SI system defines length in meters (m),
time in seconds (s), and mass in kilograms (kg).
• The unit of force, called a newton (N), is derived from F = ma.
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System International (SI)
• Thus, 1 newton is equal to a force required to give 1 kilogram of
mass an acceleration of 1 m/s2.(N = Kg.m/s2).
System International (SI)
• The weight of a body, or the force of
gravity exerted on that body, should, like
any other force, be expressed in newton.
• Therefore, a body of mass 1 kg has a
weight of 9.81 N, a 2-kg body weighs
19.62 N
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System International (SI)
Table 3.1
System International (SI)
Table 3.1 Cont…
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U.S. Customary (FPS).
• In the U.S. Customary system of units (FPS) length is measured in
feet (ft), time in seconds (s), and force in pounds (lb).
• The unit of mass, called a slug, is derived from F = ma.
• Hence, 1 slug is equal to the amount of matter accelerated at 1 ft/s2
when acted upon by a force of 1 lb.
U.S. Customary (FPS)
• Therefore, if the measurements are made at the “standard location,”
where g = 32.2 ft/s2 then;
m = 1 slug
• W = mg
W= 32.2 lb
• And so a body weighing 32.2 lb has a mass of 1 slug, a 64.4-lb body
has a mass of 2 slugs and so on.
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U.S. Customary (FPS)
• Other U.S. customary units frequently encountered in engineering
problems are the mile (mi), equal to 5280 ft; the inch (in.), equal to
• 1/12 ft; and the kilopound (kip), equal to a force of 1000 lb.
• The ton is often used to represent a mass of 2000 lb.
Systems of Units
Table 3-2: Systems of Units summary
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Systems of Units
Prefixes
• When a numerical quantity is either very large or very
• small, the units used to define its size may be modified by using a
prefix.
• Some of the prefixes used in the SI system are shown in Table 3-3
on next slide.
• The kilogram is the only base unit that is defined with a prefix.
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Prefixes
Table 3-3: SI Prefixes
Prefixes
• The multiples and submultiples of the units of length, mass, and
force most frequently used in engineering are, respectively, the
kilometer (km) and the millimeter (mm); the megagram† (Mg) and
the gram (g); and the kilonewton (kN)
Quantity Base unit Multiple Submultiple
Length Meter (m) kilometer millimeter
km = 1000 m mm = 10-3 m = 0.001 m
Mass kilogram Megagram gram
(kg) Mg = 1000 kg g = 10-3 kg = 0.001 kg
Force Newton (N) kilonewton --
kN = 1000 N
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Rules for use of prefixes
• Here are a few of the important rules that describe the proper use of
the various SI symbols:
• Quantities defined by several units which are multiples of one
another are separated by a dot to avoid confusion with prefix
notation, as indicated by N = kg . m/s2 = kg . m . s -2.
• Also, m . s (meter-second), whereas ms (milli-second).
Rules for use of prefixes
• The exponential power on a unit having a prefix refers to both the
unit and its prefix.
• For example, µN2 = (µN)2 = µN . µN.
• Likewise, mm2 represents (mm)2 = mm . mm.
• This rule is important in calculating area and volume
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Rules for use of prefixes
• When performing calculations, represent the numbers in terms of
their base or derived units by converting all prefixes to powers of 10.
• The final result should then be expressed using a single prefix.
• Also, after calculation, it is best to keep numerical values between
0.1 and 1000; otherwise, a suitable prefix should be chosen.
• For example,
Units Conversion
• There are many instances when an engineer wishes to convert into
SI units a numerical result obtained in U.S. customary units or vice
versa.
• Because the unit of time is the same in both systems, only two
kinetic base units need be converted.
• Units of Length.
• By definition the U.S. customary unit of length is 1 ft = 0.3048 m.
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Units Conversion
• It follows that:
1 mi = 5280 ft = 5280(0.3048 m) = 1609 m = 1.609 km.
• Also
1 inch = 1/12 ft = 1/12(0.3048 m) = 0.0254 m = 25.4 mm
Units Conversion
• Units of Force;
• U.S. customary unit of force (pound) is defined as the weight of the
standard pound (of mass 0.4536 kg) at sea level and at a latitude of
45o (where g = 9.807 m/s2)
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Units Conversion
• Units of Mass;
• The U.S. customary unit of mass (slug) is a derived unit.
Units Conversion Examples
• Convert 2 km/h to m/s How many ft/s is this?
𝑘𝑚 2𝑘𝑚 1000𝑚 1ℎ 2000 𝑚
2 = = = 0.556 𝑚/𝑠
ℎ ℎ 𝑘𝑚 3600 𝑠 3600 𝑠
From table 2-2 1 ft = 0.3048 m
𝑚 0.556 𝑚 1 𝑓𝑡
0.556 = = 1.82 𝑓𝑡/𝑠
𝑠 𝑠 0.3048 𝑚
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Units Conversion Examples
• Converting 30 mi/h into ft/s
𝑚𝑖 𝑚𝑖 5280𝑓𝑡 1ℎ
30 = 30 = 44 𝑓𝑡/𝑠
ℎ ℎ 1 𝑚𝑖 3600 𝑠
U.S. Customary Units and Their SI Equivalents
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U.S. Customary Units and Their SI Equivalents
Reference Books
Book Title (Edition) Author Chapter/Topic
Number
Engineering Mechanics – R. C. Hibbler Chapter 1
Statics & Dynamics (14th) Topics 1.3, 1.4 & 1.6
Vector Mechanics for Ferdinand P. Beer, Chapter 1
Engineers - Statics and E. Russell Johnston, Jr, Topics 1.3, 1.4 & 1.5
Dynamics (10th) Phillip J. Cornwell
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