ENSC 11 Module 1

Mechanics

The branch of physical science concerned with the state of rest or motion of bodies subjected to the action of forces.

Statics

The study of rigid bodies that are at rest.

Dynamics

The study of bodies that are in motion.

Rigid Bodies

Assumed to have no significant changes in their form after force is applied.

Deformable Bodies

Bodies whose shape and/or dimensions change after being subjected to forces or stresses.

Fluid Mechanics

The mechanics of fluids whose behavior is studied under the influence of forces.

Concentrated Force

Represents the effect of a loading which is assumed to act at a point with a very small area of application compared to the overall size of the body.

Newton's First Law

An object at rest will remain at rest unless acted upon by an unbalanced force; a moving object will remain in motion with constant speed and direction unless acted upon by an unbalanced force.

Newton's Second Law

An object acted upon by an unbalanced force accelerates in the same direction as the force with a magnitude that is directly proportional to the force and inversely proportional to the object's mass.

Newton's Third Law

For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.

Force

A push or pull exerted by one body on another; characterized by magnitude, direction, sense, and point of application.

Mass

A property of matter that allows comparison of the action of one body to another.

Length

A basic quantity that locates the position of a point in space and describes the size of the physical system.

Time

A basic quantity that denotes the succession of events.

System of Units

Measurement system used to define quantities such as length, time, mass, and force.

Idealization

The process of simplifying complex objects to enable analysis through models, such as treating bodies as particles or rigid bodies.

Equilibrium

A state in which the resultant of all forces acting on an object is zero.

Free-Body Diagram

A graphical representation used to visualize the applied forces, moments, and reactions on a body.

Centroid

The geometric center of an area or volume, often used to analyze the distribution of forces.