Lesson 4
Torque
Advanced
General Physics
Physics
1/2
Science,
Third Quarter
Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics
Learning Objectives
At the end of the lesson, you should be able to do the following:
● Define the concept of the torque of a force about
a given point.
● Calculate the magnitude of torque.
● Determine the direction of torque.
● Calculate the net torque given the components of
position and force.
2
Torque
● Suppose a force F is exerted on
point A of a rigid body that can
be rotated about point O.
● The line of action—along which
the force vector lies—forms an
angle θ with the position vector
r of point A.
7
Torque
● The tendency of the applied force
to rotate the object depends on
the magnitude of the force.
● If we decrease the perpendicular
distance (called the lever arm or
moment arm) between the axis
of rotation and the line of action,
it becomes harder to rotate the
object.
8
Torque
● If the line of action and axis of
rotation intersect, the rigid
body will not rotate.
● The tendency of a force to
change an object’s rotational
motion about an axis is called
torque or moment of force.
9
Torque
● The torque ( ) exerted is a
vector perpendicular to both
position and force vectors.
● It can be mathematically stated
as:
● It should be noted that the
torque is the cross product
between r and F.
10
Torque
● Door knobs are located at the possible farthest
point from the hinges in order to increase torque
with a minimum exerted force.
● It can be illustrated below:
12
Magnitude of Torque
● Suppose we are looking for the cross product of
three vectors:
● The angle between vectors A and B is noted by θ.
We can get the magnitude of vector C by using the
equation:
13
Magnitude of Torque
● Similarly to torque, we can get its magnitude by
using the equation:
● This suggests that the magnitude of torque is
directly proportional to the applied force F and the
length of the lever arm.
14
Magnitude of Torque
● Torque is zero when θ = 0o or θ = 180o.
● Torque is maximum if θ = 90o.
● These mean that torque is maximum when the
force and the lever arm are perpendicular and zero
when they are parallel.
15
Direction of Torque
Right Hand Rule
● First, point the fingers of your
right hand in the direction of
the position vector.
● Then, curl your fingers
towards the direction of the
force vector.
19
Direction of Torque
Right Hand Rule
● Your outstretched thumb
should now point to the
direction of the torque.
20
Direction of Torque
● Since torque is a vector, we have to emphasize its
sign convention shown below:
21
Net Torque
● To determine the net torque of an object, we have
to apply the following equation:
● We have to consider in this equation the direction
of the torque whether it is positive or negative.
22
Let’s Practice!
Suppose 900 N is applied downwards to one end of a
0.80 m lever which makes a 71° angle with the
vertical. Calculate the magnitude of the torque
applied on the lever.
𝜏 =𝑟×𝐹
𝜏 = 0.8 × 900 sin 71
𝝉 = 𝟔𝟖𝟎. 𝟕𝟕𝟑 𝑵 − 𝒎
23
Let’s Practice!
Calculate the net torque about the axle if
forces are exerted on points A and B in the
wheel as shown. (*FA = change 12 m to 12 N)
𝜏𝑛𝑒𝑡 = Σ(𝑟 × 𝐹)
𝐹𝑜𝑟 𝑠𝑖𝑔𝑛 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑣𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛: 𝐶𝐶𝑊 𝑖𝑠 + 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝐶𝑊 𝑖𝑠 −
𝜏𝑛𝑒𝑡 = 12 sin 45 0.30 + 15(0.10)
𝝉𝒏𝒆𝒕 = 𝟒. 𝟎𝟒𝟔 𝑵 − 𝒎
24
Let’s Practice!
Calculate the net torque at point O based 𝐹𝑦
on the force applied on the given figure.
𝐹𝑥
𝜏𝑛𝑒𝑡 = Σ(𝑟 × 𝐹)
𝐹𝑜𝑟 𝑠𝑖𝑔𝑛 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑣𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛: 𝐶𝐶𝑊 𝑖𝑠 + 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝐶𝑊 𝑖𝑠 −
4 3
𝜏𝑛𝑒𝑡 = −100 2 − 100 (5)
5 5
𝝉𝒏𝒆𝒕 = −𝟒𝟔𝟎 𝑵 − 𝒎 𝒐𝒓 𝟒𝟔𝟎 𝑵 − 𝒎 𝒄𝒍𝒐𝒄𝒌𝒘𝒊𝒔𝒆
WORKSHEET NO. 4
TORQUE
(15 POINTS)
CN LN, FN MI.
10-___________
1 WHOLE INTERMEDIATE PAPER ONLY
Check Your Understanding
Solve the following problems. Show your complete solutions and box your
final answer with the correct unit.
1. Solve the net torque at point O:
2. A square metal plate 0.180
m on each side is pivoted about
an axis through point O at its center
and perpendicular to the plate.
Calculate the net torque
about this axis due to the three forces
shown in the figure if the magnitudes of
the forces are F1 = 18.0 N, F2 = 26.0 N,
and F3 = 14.0 N. The plate and all forces
are in the plane of the page.
Check Your Understanding
Solve the following problems. Show your complete solutions and box your
final answer with correct unit.
3. Solve the net torque at point O:
4. Solve the net torque at point O:
Check Your Understanding
Solve the following problems. Show your complete solutions and box your
final answer with correct unit.
5. Solve the net torque at point A:
