orce and (b) the perpendicular distance between the point of rotation and the line of

action of the force.

Figure 3.10 Types of motion.

The perpendicular distance from the line of action of the force to the point about which
rotation is assumed to take place is called the moment arm (or lever arm). Since the
tendency to cause rotation depends on both the magnitude of the force and the length
of the moment arm, the moment of a force (or simply, the moment) is defined as the
product of the force and its moment arm.
With reference to Figure 3.11, the moment about point O may be expressed as the
product Pd. P represents a force. Point O, called the moment center, is a point on an
axis of rotation that is perpendicular to the plane of the page. OG, of length d, is the
moment arm and extends from the moment center to the point of application of force P.
The moment arm OG is perpendicular to the force P and perpendicular to the axis of
rotation. Therefore, as previously stated, the moment of P with respect to point O is
equal to the product Pd.
Figure 3.11 Moment of a force.
Since moment is the product of force and distance, the units of moment are the product
of the applicable units generally used

for force and distance. In the U.S. Customary System, units for moment are lb-in., lb-
ft, k-in., and k-ft. In the SI, the units are newton-meter ( ).
Since a moment tends to produce rotation about an axis or point, a sign convention is
generally used to identify the sense of the moment. An acceptable convention, and the
one used throughout this text, is to identify a clockwise rotation as negative and a
counterclockwise rotation as positive. For example, in Figure 3.12a, the force F acts
along the line of action shown. Its moment arm has a length of d, and the moment of
the force about the point (or axis) O is Fd. The moment has a tendency to produce
rotation about point O, the moment center. It is seen that the rotation is in a clockwise
direction. This moment, according to our sign convention, would have a negative
sense.
Figure 3.12 Moment examples.
In Figure 3.12b, the force P, acting tangent to the wheel, creates a moment about O,
which is equal to Pr, where r is the radius of the wheel. The moment Pr tends to turn
the wheel in a counterclockwise direction. This moment would be considered to have a
positive sense.
Example 3.4
Three coplanar concurrent forces act on a body at point A as shown in Figure 3.13. (a)
Calculate the moment of each of these forces about point O. (b) Calculate the algebraic
sum of the three moments about point O and determine the direction of the rotation.
Figure 3.13 Moment of concurrent forces.
Solution
(a) Note that point O lies on the line of action of the 40-lb force. Therefore, the
moment of this force (about point O) is zero.
The moment of the 75-lb force is calculated from

The positive sign is assigned because the moment is counterclockwise.

The moment of the 60-lb force is calculated from

Since the rotation is clockwise, the moment is assigned a negative sign.

(b) The algebraic summation of the three moments is