Statics Ch. 7 · Mechanics of Materials Ch. 6 · Drill

Shear & moment diagrams, by hand.

You get a new beam every time. Sketch the diagrams on paper, then fill in the shear and moment at each key point and pick the shape of every segment. FreeBody grades it, then draws the real diagrams one segment at a time and explains each step.

Rule 1Slope of V equals the load: $dV/dx = -w$. No load means V is flat.
Rule 2Slope of M equals the shear: $dM/dx = V$. Area under V is the change in M.
Rule 3A point load makes V jump by the load. A couple makes M jump by the couple.
Rule 4M is largest where V crosses zero. M = 0 at pins, rollers and free ends.
Beams done 0 · Perfect 0 · Streak 0
Problem 1

Values at the key points

Sign convention: positive V pushes the left piece up, positive M bends the beam into a smile. At the far right end, use the values just left of the end.

Shape of each segment

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