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CHAPTER 4 Displacement vectors

MOTION IN A PLANE  A vector joining the initial and final positions of
(Prepared By Ayyappan C, HSST , GMRHSS , Kasaragod) an moving object is known as displacement
SCALARS vector.
 A scalar quantity is a quantity with magnitude  The magnitude of the displacement vector is
only. either less or equal to the path length of an
 It is specified by a single number, along with the object between two points
proper unit.
 Examples are : the distance , mass, temperature
time etc.
 Scalars can be added, subtracted, multiplied
and divided just as the ordinary numbers.
 Scalars can be added or subtracted with Equal vectors
quantities with same units only. However, you  Two vectors A and B are said to be equal if, and
can multiply and divide scalars of different only if ,they have the same magnitude and
units. same direction.
VECTORS
 A vector quantity is a quantity that has both a
magnitude and a direction.
 A vector is specified by giving its magnitude by a
number and its direction.
Unequal vectors
 Examples are displacement, velocity,
 Two vectors A and B are said to be unequal if,
acceleration and force.
they have the different magnitude or direction.
Representation of Vectors
 Vectors are represented using a straight-line
with an arrow head.

Negative vector
 Negative of a vector has the same magnitude
 The length of the line is equal to or proportional but opposite direction.
to the magnitude of the vector and the arrow
head shows the direction.
TYPES OF VECTORS
Position Vectors
 To describe the position of an object moving in
Null vector ( Zero vector )
a plane an arbitrary point is taken as origin.
 A vector with zero magnitude and arbitrary
 A vector drawn from the origin to the point is direction
known as position vector.  Examples are :
 Displacement of a stationary object
 Velocity of a stationary object
Collinear vectors
 Vectors with same direction or opposite
direction
 Their magnitudes may or may not be equal

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Co-initial vectors Vectors in opposite direction-subtraction

 Vectors having same initial point  The magnitude of the resultant vector is the
difference of the magnitudes of the vectors.
 The direction of the resultant vector is the same
as the direction of the vector with greater
magnitude.
Coplanar vectors  We define the difference of two vectors A and B
 Vectors lying on the same plane as the sum of two vectors A and –B

When two vectors are inclined at an angle (vectors in a

plane)
 The two methods used are:
UNIT VECTORS
a) Triangle law of vectors
 A vector with unit magnitude
b) Parallelogram law of vectors
 It is used to denote a direction
Triangle law of vectors
 Any vector can be represented as the product
 If two vectors are represented in magnitude
of its magnitude and a unit vector
  and direction by the two sides of a triangle
A | A | Aˆ taken in the same order, then third or closing
 Where  is unit vector side of the triangle taken in the opposite order
 represents the resultant in magnitude and
A
 Thus unit vector, Aˆ  direction.
| A|  Addition
Orthogonal unit vectors
 Unit vectors along the x, y, z axes of a
rectangular coordinate system is called
orthogonal unit vectors.

 They are denoted as iˆ , ĵ and k̂

VECTOR ADDITION- GRAPHICAL METHOD Subtraction
 The process of adding two or more vectors is  In subtraction the negative of the vector to be
called addition or composition of vectors. subtracted is added with the vector
 The result of adding two or more vectors is
called resultant vector
Properties of vector addition
 Vector addition is commutative
   
A B  B  A
 Vector addition is associative
      Parallelogram law of vectors
( A  B)  C  A  ( B  C )  If two vectors can be represented in
Vectors acting in the same direction - Addition magnitude and direction by the two adjacent
 The magnitude of the resultant of the vectors is sides of a parallelogram drawn from a point,
the sum of the magnitudes of the vectors. then the diagonal of the parallelogram drawn
 The direction of the resultant vector is the same from that point represents the resultant in
as that of the vectors added. magnitude and direction.

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R B
 
sin  sin 
 Similarly
PM  Asin   B sin 
VECTOR ADDITION – ANALYTICAL METHOD  Or
Expression for the resultant of two vectors A B
 
sin  sin 
 Combining the two equations
R A B
  
sin  sin  sin 
Special cases
i) When A and B are in the same direction
R=A+B, the resultant is maximum and α=0, it
 Using the parallelogram method of vector
is in the direction of A and B
addition, OS represents the resultant vector R
ii) When A and B are perpendicular to each other
B
R  A2  B 2 and ,   tan
 SN is normal to OP and PM is normal to OS. 1

From the geometry of the figure, A

OS 2  ON 2  SN 2 iii) When A and B are in opposite direction
R=A-B, the resultant is minimum and α=0,
 But ON  OP  PN  A  B cos 
the resultant is in the direction of large vector.
and , SN  B sin  PROBLEM-1
 Therefore  Rain is falling vertically with a speed of
OS 2  ( A  B cos ) 2  ( B sin ) 2 35 m s–1. Winds starts blowing after sometime
with a speed of 12 m s–1 in east to west
R 2  A2  B 2  2 AB cos direction. In which direction should a boy
 Thus the magnitude of resultant is waiting at a bus stop hold his umbrella ?
Solution
R  A2  B 2  2 AB cos
 This equation is known as law of cosines.
To find direction of resultant vector
 From the diagram
SN B sin 
tan  
OP  PN A  B cos 
Law of sines  The velocity of the rain and the wind are
represented by the vectors vr and vw .
 In ΔOSN ,
 Using the rule of vector addition, magnitude of
SN  OS sin   R sin  the resultant R ,is
 In ΔPSN
SN  PS sin   B sin 
 The direction  that R makes with the vertical
is given by
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 Thus any vector A can be written as

 Therefore, the boy should hold his umbrella at

an angle of about 190 with the vertical plane
towards the east.
PROBLEM-2
 A motorboat is racing towards north at 25 km/h
and the water current in that region is 10 km/h
in the direction of 60° east of south. Find the Rectangular resolution
resultant velocity of the boat.  Any vector in a plane can be resolved into two
Solution components along x and y.

 Resolution of a vector in to two mutually

perpendicular components in a plane is called
rectangular resolution.
 Thus in the form of components vector A can be
 The two velocities are at an angle of 1200. written as
 Thus magnitude of resultant

R  25  10  2  25  10  cos120  21.8km / h
2 2 A  Ax iˆ  Ay ˆj
 The direction is  The quantities Ax and Ay are called x and y
components of vector A.
 Using trigonometry
10  sin120
tan   0.433 Ax  A cos 
25  10  cos120
Ay  A sin 
  tan 10
0.433  23.4 0
 Thus the magnitude of the vector A is
Multiplication of vectors by real numbers
A  Ax  Ay
2 2
 Multiplying a vector with a positive number λ
gives a vector whose magnitude is changed by a
factor λ but the direction is same as that of A.
 When multiplied with a negative number the  Also
direction reverses. Ay
tan  
Ax
 Ay 
  tan1  
 
Ax
Resolution of Vectors Resolution of vectors in three dimension
 Any vector in a plane can be represented as the  In three dimensions any vector can be split up
resultant of two vectors. in to three components along x, y and z.
 The splitting of a vector into its components is 
known as resolution of vectors. A  Ax iˆ  Ay ˆj  Az kˆ
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 
r  r 'r
 In component form

r  ( x' iˆ  y ' ˆj )  ( xiˆ  yˆj )

r  ( x' x )iˆ  ( y ' y ) ˆj

r  xiˆ  yˆj
Average Velocity

 The magnitude of vector A is

A  Ax  Ay  Az
2 2 2

Position vector r in component form

 The average velocity is given by
 In three dimensions the position vector is given 
by r xiˆ  yˆj x ˆ y ˆ
 v   i j
r  xiˆ  yˆj  zkˆ t t t t
 where x, y, and z are the components of r along v  v xiˆ  v y ˆj
x-, y-, z-axes, respectively
The instantaneous velocity
Motion in a Plane
 The instantaneous velocity is
 The motion in a plane can be treated as two
separate simultaneous one dimensional motion
with constant acceleration along two
perpendicular directions.  Thus

Position vector r  xiˆ  yˆj  dx ˆ dy ˆ
v  lim  lim    i j
 The position vector of an object in a plane is t 0 t t 0 t
  dt dt
 
r  xiˆ  yˆj v  v xiˆ  v y ˆj
 The magnitude of velocity is

 The direction is given by the angle

Displacement vector

Average acceleration
 Displacement vector of an object moving in a  The average acceleration is given by
plane is
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
v v x iˆ  v y ˆj v x ˆ v y ˆ
Displacement –Time relation
a   i j  In vector form
t t t t

a  a xiˆ  a y ˆj  In component form

RELATIVE VELOCITY IN TWO DIMENSIONS

 Velocity of object A relative to that of B is :

  
v AB  v A  vB
 Velocity of B relative to that of A is
  
vBA  vB  v A
Instantaneous acceleration PROBLEM
 The acceleration at any instant is  Rain is falling vertically with a speed of 35 m s –1.
A woman rides a bicycle with a speed of 12 m s –
1
in east to west direction. What is the direction
in which she should hold her umbrella?
 Thus
v  v x iˆ   y ˆj  dv x dv y Solution
a  lim  lim   iˆ  ˆj
t 0 t t 0  t  dt dt
 

a  a xiˆ  a y ˆj

 Since the woman is riding a bicycle, the velocity

of rain as experienced by her is the velocity of
rain relative to the velocity of the bicycle she is
riding

 This relative velocity vector makes an angle

 with the vertical, given by
EQUATIONS OF MOTION IN A PLANE WITH CONSTANT
ACCELERATION
Velocity –Time relation
 In vector form Thus  = 190

  
v  v0  at 
Therefore, the woman should hold her umbrella
at an angle of about 19° with the vertical
 In component form towards the west.
PROJECTILE MOTION
 An object that is in flight after being thrown or
projected is called a projectile.

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 The horizontal component of velocity remains Equation of path of a projectile

unchanged.  We have from the equation of motion
 Due gravity vertical component of velocity
x
changes with time.
t
 It is assumed that air resistance has negligible
effect on motion of the projectile.
v0 cos  
 The trajectory or path of a projectile is  Substituting this in the equation
parabola.
y  v0 sin  t 
1 2
Motion of an object projected with velocity v0 at an gt
angle  2
 We get
2
1  
y  v0 sin  
x x
 g  
v0 cos   2  v0 cos   
y  tan  x 
g
x2
2(v0 cos  ) 2

 This equation is of the form

y  ax  bx 2
 This is the equation of a parabola.

 After the object has been projected, the The parabolic path of a projectile
acceleration acting on it is that due to gravity
which is directed vertically downward:

 That is a   gˆj or in component form

 The components of initial velocity vo are :

v0 x  v0 cos 
v0 y  v0 sin 
 If we take the initial position to be the origin of
the reference frame (x0=0 , y0=0), the equations
of motion for the projectile is given by

x  v0 x t  a x t 2  v0 cos  t
1
2  At the highest point , velocity is zero, but still
there is acceleration due to gravity.
y  v0 y t  a y t 2  v0 sin  t  gt 2
1 1 Time of maximum height (tm)
2 2  At maximum height vy = 0,
 If tm is the time of maximum height, then
 Also
v x  v0 x  a x t  v0 cos  v y  v0 sin   gt m  0
v0 sin 
v y  v0 y  a y t  v0 sin   gt tm 
g

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Time of Flight of the projectile ( T ) Maximum horizontal range

 The total time during which the projectile is in  Range is maximum when 2 = 900 or =450.
flight is called time of flight .  Thus
Equation of Time of Flight 2
v
 During time of flight we have, the vertical
displacement y=0, thus
Rmax  0
g
PROBLEM -1
y  v0 sin  T  gT 2  0
1
 A hiker stands on the edge of a cliff 490 m
2 above the ground and throws a stone
2v0 sin  horizontally with an initial speed of 15 m s -1.
T
g Neglecting air resistance, find
a) the time taken by the stone to reach the
 Thus time of flight T = 2tm
ground.
Maximum Height of a Projectile (H)
b) the speed with which it hits the ground.
(Take g = 9.8 m s-2 ).

Solution
 We choose the origin of the x-,and y axis at the
edge of the cliff and t = 0 s at the instant the
stone is thrown.
a) We have
1
 We have the vertical displacement, y  y0  v0 y t  a y t 2
y  v0 sin  t  gt 2
1 2
2  Here y0 =0, v0y =0, ay = - g = 9.8 m/s2 and y = -
490 m, therefore
 At maximum height y =H and t = tm , then
1
 490    9.8t 2
H  v0 sin  tm  gtm
1 2
2
2
t  10s
v sin 2  1  v0 sin 2  
2 2
 0   

b) The components of velocity are given by
g 2 g  v x  v0 x  a x t  v0 x  15m / s
v0 sin 2 
2
v y  v0 y  a y t  0  9.8  10  98m / s
H  Therefore the speed of the stone is
2g
v  v x  v y  152  982  99m / s
2 2
Horizontal Range of a Projectile (R)
 The horizontal distance travelled by the
PROBLEM -2
projectile during the time of flight is called
horizontal range.  A cricket ball is thrown at a speed of
28 m s–1 in a direction 30° above the horizontal.
 R = Horizontal velocity x Time of flight Calculate
2v sin 
R  v0 cos   0 (a) the maximum height
g (b) the time taken by the ball to return to the
v0 2 sin  cos   v0 sin 2  same level
2 2
R  (c) the distance from the thrower to the point
g g
where the ball returns to the same level.
Solution
v sin 2 
2
a) The maximum height is
R 0
g
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v0 sin 2  28  sin 30 Frequency (ν)

2 2
H   10m  It is the number of revolutions made by the
2g 2  9.8 particle in one second.
1
b) Time of flight is 
T
2v0 sin  2  28  sin 30
T   2.9s
g 9.8 Angular acceleration (α)
c) Horizontal range is  It is the time rate of change of angular velocity.
v0 sin 2  282  sin 2  30
2
R   69m  Average angular acceleration is
g 9.8 
UNIFORM CIRCULAR MOTION 
t
 When an object follows a circular path at a
 The instantaneous angular acceleration is
constant speed, the motion of the object is
 d
called uniform circular motion.   lim 
 In uniform circular motion the magnitude of t 0 t dt
velocity of the particle remains constant, but  The S I unit of angular acceleration is rad/s2.
the direction changes continuously.
 The velocity at any point is along the tangent to Relation connecting Angular Velocity and Linear
the path at that point. Velocity
 The acceleration directed towards the centre of
the path of motion is called normal
acceleration or radial acceleration or
centripetal acceleration.

Angular Displacement (θ)

 The angle swept by the radius vector in a given
time.
 It is a vector quantity and its unit is radian.
 If the distance travelled by the object during the
Angular velocity or Angular frequency (ω) time Δt is Δs ,the average velocity is
 It is the time rate of change of angular s
displacement. v
t
 The average angular velocity
 From the diagram we have , s  R , R -

 radius
t  Thus , the velocity is given by
 The instantaneous angular velocity
  
 d v  Lim R   R
  lim  t 0
 t 
t 0 t dt
 Therefore v  R
 The S I unit is radian / second.
Relation between acceleration and angular
acceleration
Time period ( T )
 We have v  R
 Time taken by the particle to complete one
 The time rate of change of velocity is given by
revolution.
dv d
R  R
dt dt
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Velocity of uniform circular motion  Where R – radius of the circle

 Magnitude of velocity is a constant.  r 
 Or v  v  
 The velocity at any point is along the tangent to  R
the path at that point.  Therefore acceleration is given by
 The change in velocity is directed towards the
centre of the circular path.
 v  v  r  v
Centripetal acceleration a c  Lim   Lim    v
t 0 t
 Acceleration experienced by an object   R t 0  t  R
undergoing uniform circular motion.  Thus the centripetal acceleration is given by
 Always directed towards the centre of the v2
circle. ac 
 Magnitude of the centripetal acceleration is a R
constant.  Or substituting v  R ,
 The direction changes — pointing always
towards the centre.
ac   2 R
 Also we have   2 , where v- frequency,
 Therefore

ac  4 2 2 R
PROBLEM
 An insect trapped in a circular groove of radius
12 cm moves along the groove steadily and
completes 7 revolutions in 100 s.
(a) What is the angular speed, and the linear
speed of the motion?
(b) Is the acceleration vector a constant vector ?
What is its magnitude?
Equation for centripetal acceleration Solution

 Given R =12 cm
 The frequency is v = 7/100 Hz
a) Angular speed
  2  2  3.14  7 / 100  0.44rad / s
Linear speed v  R  12  0.44  5.3cm / s
b) Not a constant vector - as direction of velocity
changes, direction of acceleration also changes.
Magnitude of acceleration is
ac   2 R  0.442  12  2.3cm / s 2

 In the diagram the triangle CPP′ formed by the *****

position vectors and the triangle GHI formed by
the velocity vectors v, v′ and Δv are similar.
 Thus ratio of the magnitudes of corresponding
sides is given by
v r

v R
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