MOMENT OF A FORCE (SCALAR FORMULATION),
CROSS PRODUCT, MOMENT OF A FORCE (VECTOR
FORMULATION), & PRINCIPLE OF MOMENTS
Today’s Objectives :
Students will be able to:
a) understand and define moment, and In-Class Activities :
b) determine moments of a force in 2-D • Check Homework
and 3-D cases. • Reading Quiz
• Applications
• Moment in 2-D
• Moment in 3-D
• Concept Quiz
• Group Problem
Solving
• Attention Quiz
Mechanics for Engineers: Statics, 13th SI Edition © Pearson Education South Asia Pte Ltd
R. C. Hibbeler and Kai Beng Yap 2013. All rights reserved.
READING QUIZ
F = 12 N
1. What is the moment of the 12 N force
about point A (MA)?
A) 3 N·m B) 36 N·m C) 12 N·m
D) (12/3) N·m E) 7 N·m d=3m
• A
2. The moment of force F about point O
is defined as MO = ___________ .
A) r x F B) F x r
C) r • F D) r * F
Mechanics for Engineers: Statics, 13th SI Edition © Pearson Education South Asia Pte Ltd
R. C. Hibbeler and Kai Beng Yap 2013. All rights reserved.
APPLICATIONS
Beams are often used to bridge gaps in walls.
We have to know what the effect of the force
on the beam will have on the supports of the
beam.
What do you think is happening at points A and B?
Mechanics for Engineers: Statics, 13th SI Edition © Pearson Education South Asia Pte Ltd
R. C. Hibbeler and Kai Beng Yap 2013. All rights reserved.
APPLICATIONS (continued)
Carpenters often use a hammer in this way to pull a
stubborn nail. Through what sort of action does the force
FH at the handle pull the nail? How can you mathematically
model the effect of force FH at point O?
Mechanics for Engineers: Statics, 13th SI Edition © Pearson Education South Asia Pte Ltd
R. C. Hibbeler and Kai Beng Yap 2013. All rights reserved.
MOMENT OF A FORCE – SCALAR FORMULATION
(Section 4.1)
The moment of a force about a point provides a measure of the
tendency for rotation (sometimes called a torque).
Mechanics for Engineers: Statics, 13th SI Edition © Pearson Education South Asia Pte Ltd
R. C. Hibbeler and Kai Beng Yap 2013. All rights reserved.
MOMENT OF A FORCE - SCALAR FORMULATION
(continued)
In a 2-D case, the magnitude of the moment is Mo = F d
As shown, d is the perpendicular distance from point O to the
line of action of the force.
In 2-D, the direction of MO is either clockwise (CW) or
counter-clockwise (CCW), depending on the tendency for
rotation.
Mechanics for Engineers: Statics, 13th SI Edition © Pearson Education South Asia Pte Ltd
R. C. Hibbeler and Kai Beng Yap 2013. All rights reserved.
MOMENT OF A FORCE - SCALAR FORMULATION
(continued)
a F
For example, MO = F d and
b the direction is counter-
clockwise.
O
d
F F
y
Often it is easier to determine
F
MO by using the components b a x
of F as shown.
O
Then MO = (FY a) – (FX b). Note the different signs on the
terms! The typical sign convention for a moment in 2-D is that
counter-clockwise is considered positive. We can determine the
direction of rotation by imagining the body pinned at O and
deciding which way the body would rotate because of the
force.
Mechanics for Engineers: Statics, 13th SI Edition © Pearson Education South Asia Pte Ltd
R. C. Hibbeler and Kai Beng Yap 2013. All rights reserved.
VECTOR CROSS PRODUCT (Section 4.2)
While finding the moment of a force in 2-D is straightforward
when you know the perpendicular distance d, finding the
perpendicular distances can be hard—especially when you
are working with forces in three dimensions.
So a more general approach to finding the moment of a
force exists. This more general approach is usually used
when dealing with three dimensional forces but can be used
in the two dimensional case as well.
This more general method of finding the moment of a force
uses a vector operation called the cross product of two
vectors.
Mechanics for Engineers: Statics, 13th SI Edition © Pearson Education South Asia Pte Ltd
R. C. Hibbeler and Kai Beng Yap 2013. All rights reserved.
CROSS PRODUCT (Section 4.2)
In general, the cross product of two vectors A and B results
in another vector, C , i.e., C = A B. The magnitude and
direction of the resulting vector can be written as
C = A B = A B sin uC
As shown, uC is the unit vector perpendicular to both A and
B vectors (or to the plane containing the A and B vectors).
Mechanics for Engineers: Statics, 13th SI Edition © Pearson Education South Asia Pte Ltd
R. C. Hibbeler and Kai Beng Yap 2013. All rights reserved.
CROSS PRODUCT (continued)
The right-hand rule is a useful tool for determining the
direction of the vector resulting from a cross product.
For example: i j = k
Note that a vector crossed into itself is zero, e.g., i i = 0
Mechanics for Engineers: Statics, 13th SI Edition © Pearson Education South Asia Pte Ltd
R. C. Hibbeler and Kai Beng Yap 2013. All rights reserved.
CROSS PRODUCT (continued)
Also, the cross product can be written as a determinant.
Each component can be determined using 2 2 determinants.
Mechanics for Engineers: Statics, 13th SI Edition © Pearson Education South Asia Pte Ltd
R. C. Hibbeler and Kai Beng Yap 2013. All rights reserved.
MOMENT OF A FORCE – VECTOR
FORMULATION (Section 4.3)
Moments in 3-D can be calculated using scalar (2-D) approach,
but it can be difficult and time consuming. Thus, it is often
easier to use a mathematical approach called the vector cross
product.
Using the vector cross product, MO = r F.
Here r is the position vector from point O to any point on the
line of action of F.
Mechanics for Engineers: Statics, 13th SI Edition © Pearson Education South Asia Pte Ltd
R. C. Hibbeler and Kai Beng Yap 2013. All rights reserved.
MOMENT OF A FORCE – VECTOR FORMULATION
(continued)
So, using the cross product, a
moment can be expressed as
By expanding the above equation using 2 2 determinants (see
Section 4.2), we get (sample units are N - m or lb - ft)
MO = (ry FZ - rZ Fy) i (rx Fz - rz Fx ) j + (rx Fy - ry Fx ) k
The physical meaning of the above equation becomes evident
by considering the force components separately and using a 2-
D formulation.
Mechanics for Engineers: Statics, 13th SI Edition © Pearson Education South Asia Pte Ltd
R. C. Hibbeler and Kai Beng Yap 2013. All rights reserved.
EXAMPLE I
Given: A 100 N force is
applied to the frame.
Find: The moment of the
force at point O.
Plan:
1) Resolve the 100 N force along x and y-axes.
2) Determine MO using a scalar analysis for the
two force components and then add those two
moments together.
Mechanics for Engineers: Statics, 13th SI Edition © Pearson Education South Asia Pte Ltd
R. C. Hibbeler and Kai Beng Yap 2013. All rights reserved.
EXAMPLE I (continued)
Solution
+ Fy = – 100 (3/5) N
+ Fx = 100 (4/5) N
+ MO = {– 100 (3/5)N (5 m) – (100)(4/5)N (2 m)} N·m
= – 460 N·m or 460 N·m CW
Mechanics for Engineers: Statics, 13th SI Edition © Pearson Education South Asia Pte Ltd
R. C. Hibbeler and Kai Beng Yap 2013. All rights reserved.
EXAMPLE II
Given: F1={100 i - 120 j + 75 k}kN
F2={-200 i +250 j + 100 k}kN
Find: Resultant moment by the
o forces about point O.
Plan:
1) Find F = F1 + F2 and rOA.
2) Determine MO = rOA F.
Mechanics for Engineers: Statics, 13th SI Edition © Pearson Education South Asia Pte Ltd
R. C. Hibbeler and Kai Beng Yap 2013. All rights reserved.
EXAMPLE II (continued)
Solution:
First, find the resultant force vector F
F = F1 + F2
= { (100 - 200) i + (-120 + 250) j + (75 + 100) k} kN
= {-100 i + 130 j + 175 k} kN
Find the position vector rOA
rOA = {4 i + 5 j + 3 k} m
Then find the moment by using the vector cross product.
i j k
MO = 4 5 3 = [{5(175) – 3(130)} i – {4(175) –
3(-100)} j + {4(130) – 5(-100)} k]kN .m
-100 130 175
= {485 i – 1000 j + 1020 k} kN.m
Mechanics for Engineers: Statics, 13th SI Edition © Pearson Education South Asia Pte Ltd
R. C. Hibbeler and Kai Beng Yap 2013. All rights reserved.
CONCEPT QUIZ
1. If a force of magnitude F can be applied in four different 2-D
configurations (P,Q,R, & S), select the cases resulting in the
maximum and minimum torque values on the nut. (Max, Min).
A) (Q, P) B) (R, S)
C) (P, R) D) (Q, S)
2. If M = r F, then what will be the value of M • r?
A) 0 B) 1
C) r 2 F D) None of the above.
Mechanics for Engineers: Statics, 13th SI Edition © Pearson Education South Asia Pte Ltd
R. C. Hibbeler and Kai Beng Yap 2013. All rights reserved.
GROUP PROBLEM SOLVING I
y Given: A 100 N force is
x applied to the hammer.
Find: The moment of the
force at A.
Plan:
Since this is a 2-D problem:
1) Resolve the 100 N force
along the handle’s x and y
axes.
2) Determine MA using a
scalar analysis.
Mechanics for Engineers: Statics, 13th SI Edition © Pearson Education South Asia Pte Ltd
R. C. Hibbeler and Kai Beng Yap 2013. All rights reserved.
GROUP PROBLEM SOLVING I (continued)
y
x Solution:
+ Fy = 100 sin 30° N
+ Fx = 100 cos 30° N
+ MA = {–(100 cos 30°)N (450 mm) – (100 sin 20°)N (125 mm)}
= – 43.2464 N·mm = 43.2 N·m (clockwise or CW)
Mechanics for Engineers: Statics, 13th SI Edition © Pearson Education South Asia Pte Ltd
R. C. Hibbeler and Kai Beng Yap 2013. All rights reserved.
GROUP PROBLEM SOLVING II
Given: The force and geometry
shown.
Find: Moment of F about
point A
Plan:
1) Find F and rAC.
2) Determine MA = rAC F
Mechanics for Engineers: Statics, 13th SI Edition © Pearson Education South Asia Pte Ltd
R. C. Hibbeler and Kai Beng Yap 2013. All rights reserved.
GROUP PROBLEM SOLVING II (continued)
Solution:
F ={ (80 cos30) sin 40 i
+ (80 cos30) cos 40 j 80 sin30 k} N
={44.53 i + 53.07 j 40 k } N
rAC ={0.55 i + 0.4 j 0.2 k } m
Find the moment by using the cross product.
i j k
MA = 0.55 0.4 0.2
44.53 53.07 40
= { -5.39 i + 13.1 j +11.4 k } N·m
Mechanics for Engineers: Statics, 13th SI Edition © Pearson Education South Asia Pte Ltd
R. C. Hibbeler and Kai Beng Yap 2013. All rights reserved.
ATTENTION QUIZ
10 N 5N
3m P 2m
1. Using the CCW direction as positive, the net moment of the
two forces about point P is
A) 10 N·m B) 20 N·m C) - 20 N·m
D) 40 N·m E) - 40 N·m
2. If r = { 5 j } m and F = { 10 k } N, the moment
r x F equals { _______ } N·m.
A) 50 i B) 50 j C) –50 i
D) – 50 j E) 0
Mechanics for Engineers: Statics, 13th SI Edition © Pearson Education South Asia Pte Ltd
R. C. Hibbeler and Kai Beng Yap 2013. All rights reserved.
Mechanics for Engineers: Statics, 13th SI Edition © Pearson Education South Asia Pte Ltd
R. C. Hibbeler and Kai Beng Yap 2013. All rights reserved.
