Colin DonnellyMCAT Physics and Math 1.7: Mechanical Equilibrium
MCAT Physics and Math 1.7: Mechanical Equilibrium
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Dynamics
The study of forces and torques
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Free body diagram
A free body diagram consists of a diagrammatic representation of a single body or a subsystem of bodies isolated from its surroundings showing all the forces acting on it.
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Translational motion occurs when _____.
forces cause an object to move without any rotation
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Translational equilibrium exists only when the _____.
vector sum of all of the forces acting on an object is zero.
(this is the second condition of equilibrium)
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When dealing w/ mechanics, always _____.
draw out the free body diagrams!
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Rotational motion occurs when forces are applied against an object in such a way as to cause the object to _____, also known as the _____.
rotate around a fixed pivot point
fulcrum
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Formula for torque
τ = r × F = rF sinθ
...where r is the length of the lever arm, F is the magnitude of the force, and θ is the angle between the lever arm and force vectors
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Rotational equilibrium exists only when the _____.
vector sum of all the torques acting on an object is zero.
(this is the second condition of equilibrium)
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Torques that generate clockwise rotation are considered _____, while torques that generate counterclockwise rotation are _____.
negative
positive
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_____ is the angular equivalent of _____.
torque (τ)
force (F)
