Understanding the Moment of a Force: Statics of Rigid Bodies

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around understanding the moment of a force in the context of statics of rigid bodies. Participants explore concepts related to the calculation of moments, including the direction of forces, moment arms, and the application of the cross-product and right-hand rule.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Technical explanation
  • Conceptual clarification
  • Debate/contested
  • Homework-related

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants express confusion about identifying the direction of a force when calculating its moment.
  • Others emphasize the importance of knowing the magnitude of the moment, the direction of the moment, the moment arm, and the magnitude of the force.
  • A participant mentions the relationship between force and distance in calculating moments, noting confusion regarding positive and negative values.
  • Some participants introduce the concept of the cross-product and the right-hand rule as essential tools for understanding moments.
  • Examples from physics classes are shared to illustrate the concepts being discussed, including the effect of applying force at different distances from a pivot point.
  • There are mentions of calculating moments about specific points and the need to consider the orientation of the moments produced by various forces.
  • Participants discuss the significance of determining the total moment about a point as the sum of individual moments from each force.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants do not reach a consensus, as there are multiple competing views and ongoing confusion regarding the calculation and conceptual understanding of moments.

Contextual Notes

Some participants express difficulty with the positive and negative aspects of moment calculations, indicating a need for further clarification on these points. The discussion includes references to specific examples and problems, but the mathematical steps and assumptions remain unresolved.

Who May Find This Useful

This discussion may be useful for students studying statics, particularly those grappling with the concepts of moments, force direction, and the application of mathematical tools like the cross-product in physics.

Frederica Salt
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How can I identify the direction of a force in finding its moment? :rolleyes:
 
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Do you know that magnitude of the moment? The direction of the moment? The moment arm? The magnitude of the force?
 
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EM_Guy said:
Do you know that magnitude of the moment? The direction of the moment? The moment arm? The magnitude of the force?
I can hardly elaborate my question. :frown: I mean when you have to find its components and get the moment using its components. It's force x distance right? But the negative and positive thing there. It confuses me.
 
Are you familiar with the cross-product and the right hand rule?

It sounds like you need to think about the basic concept of what a moment is.

Have you ever tried to push open a door by pressing on the door very near the hinge of the door? Did you find that to be difficult? What happens when you press on the door further away from the hinge?
 
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EM_Guy said:
Are you familiar with the cross-product and the right hand rule?

It sounds like you need to think about the basic concept of what a moment is.

Have you ever tried to push open a door by pressing on the door very near the hinge of the door? Did you find that to be difficult? What happens when you press on the door further away from the hinge?
Yes we had that discussion in my physics 1 class. I have here an example. I hope this could help us understand each other.
 

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EM_Guy said:
Are you familiar with the cross-product and the right hand rule?

It sounds like you need to think about the basic concept of what a moment is.

Have you ever tried to push open a door by pressing on the door very near the hinge of the door? Did you find that to be difficult? What happens when you press on the door further away from the hinge?
It's 2D.
 


So, ##M = \sum(r \times F)## The object tends to rotate about the axis of the moment vector.
 
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EM_Guy said:


So, ##M = \sum(r \times F)## The object tends to rotate about the axis of the moment vector.

Sir, thank you so much for the help.
 
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  • #10
EM_Guy said:

Thank you. :)
 
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  • #11




Hopefully these videos help.
 
  • #12
Frederica Salt said:
Yes we had that discussion in my physics 1 class. I have here an example. I hope this could help us understand each other.
That is really simple question. Firstly, you should find the moment of point "O" ,that is zero, to find Fx and Fy. Finally, F is sqrt[(Fx)^2 + (Fy)^2].
 
  • #13
Frederica Salt said:
Yes we had that discussion in my physics 1 class. I have here an example. I hope this could help us understand each other.

Do you know what the moment about O is or what the magnitude of the (3,4,5) force is? Or do you need to find the magnitude of this force so that the moment about O would be equal to 0?

The total moment about O is the sum of the moments about O for each force. The first step is to find the moment arm between O and the point at which the forces are being applied. Then you do cross-products.
 
  • #14
EM_Guy said:
Do you know what the moment about O is or what the magnitude of the (3,4,5) force is? Or do you need to find the magnitude of this force so that the moment about O would be equal to 0?

The total moment about O is the sum of the moments about O for each force. The first step is to find the moment arm between O and the point at which the forces are being applied. Then you do cross-products.
Thyphon said:
That is really simple question. Firstly, you should find the moment of point "O" ,that is zero, to find Fx and Fy. Finally, F is sqrt[(Fx)^2 + (Fy)^2].
This was it. I would always have hard time in determining the negative and positive thing when it comes to problems like this one.
 

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  • #15
Frederica Salt said:
This was it. I would always have hard time in determining the negative and positive thing when it comes to problems like this one.

Just take it one step at a time, and make sure each step makes sense.

In this problem, if you were going to find the moment about A, it would just be the sum of the moments of each force about A. The first thing to do would be to use the right hand rule to make sure you understand the orientation of the moment about A of each individual force. For example, by the right hand rule, you can tell that the force Q produces a counter-clockwise (CCW) moment about A. The upwards 80 lb force would produce a CCW moment about A, but the downwards 80 lb force would produce a CW moment about A. Also, the downwards 80 lb force would produce a moment about A of greater magnitude than the moment produced by the upwards 80 lb force. Can you see why? Can you figure out the orientation (CW or CCW) of the moments produced by the rest of the forces?
 
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  • #16
Take a look these below.

1.JPG
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  • #17
EM_Guy said:
Just take it one step at a time, and make sure each step makes sense.

In this problem, if you were going to find the moment about A, it would just be the sum of the moments of each force about A. The first thing to do would be to use the right hand rule to make sure you understand the orientation of the moment about A of each individual force. For example, by the right hand rule, you can tell that the force Q produces a counter-clockwise (CCW) moment about A. The upwards 80 lb force would produce a CCW moment about A, but the downwards 80 lb force would produce a CW moment about A. Also, the downwards 80 lb force would produce a moment about A of greater magnitude than the moment produced by the upwards 80 lb force. Can you see why? Can you figure out the orientation (CW or CCW) of the moments produced by the rest of the forces?
Thank you tho. :) We had this problem in our class for Mechanics and fortunately I was able to finally get it. :biggrin: Salamat for your help. :)
 

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