Lesson 8: Equilibrium of Rigid Bodies
Write your solutions to the following problems and submit them before 6 am
on Monday, March 10th.
Submit to the SUBMIT folder on Priscilla or as an attachment to an e-mail
message to rfuller@unlinfo.unl.edu or using this Web form.
The solutions to the problems in this lesson are rather formal; that is, all
problem solutions follow a regular procedure, which, if done carefully, will
almost always produce the desired result. After learning the general procedures
and practicing on a few examples, you should find no difficulty in solving any
problem in this lesson.
The steps in the formal solution procedure are summarized here:
- Draw an imaginary boundary separating the system under consideration from
its surroundings.
- Draw vectors representing the magnitude, direction, and point of application
of all external forces to the system (in other words, construct a free-body
diagram).
- Choose a convenient reference frame, resolve all of the external forces
along these axes, and then apply the first condition of equilibrium.
- Choose a convenient axis, evaluate all of the external torques around it,
and apply the second condition of equilibrium.The resulting simultaneous
equations can then be solved for the desired quantities.
Be sure to include your name on your submitted document.
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the Web to submit!