1.

Note that the equations of steps 1 and 2 could also be shown in the tabular format
shown in Table 3.1.
Table 3.1 Tabular format for Example 3.3

Force (kips) Fx (kips) Fy (kips)

10

12

In Section 2.8, a graphical solution for the resultant of two orthogonal forces was
discussed. A graphical solution can also be employed to determine the resultant of three
or more concurrent coplanar forces. This solution results from the drawing of a force
polygon. For the four-force system of Example 3.3, the polygon is constructed using
the magnitudes, directions, and senses from Figure 3.7 beginning at point O with the
5-kip force and placing the tail of the 8-kip force at the tip of the 5-kip force, and so on.
The result is shown in Figure 3.9. The resultant closes the polygon. The magnitude and
direction of the resultant shown here have been scaled from the drawing, and they
compare favorably with the analytical results.

3.3 Moment of a Force

If a force is applied to a body “at rest,” the body can be disturbed in two different ways
from the standpoint of planar motion. Either it can be moved as a whole up or down, to
the right, or to the left (translation), or it can be turned about some fixed point (rotation).
For example, as shown in Figure 3.10a, a force P applied at the midpoint of a free,
rigid, uniform object will slide the object such that every point moves an equal distance.
The object is said to translate. If the same force is applied at some other point as in
Figure 3.10b, then the object will both translate and rotate. The amount of rotation
depends on the point of application of the force. If a point on the object is fixed against
translation, as at point A in Figure 3.10c, then the applied force P causes the object to
rotate only. Such rotation occurs when one pushes on a door or pulls on the handle of a
wrench to turn a nut. This tendency of a force to produce rotation about some point is
called the moment of a force. The magnitude of this tendency is directly proportional to
(a) the magnitude of the