Chapter 4

Motion in Two Dimensions

CHAPTE R OUTLI N E

4.1 The Position, Velocity, and

Acceleration Vectors
4.2 Two-Dimensional Motion with
Constant Acceleration
4.3 Projectile Motion
4.4 Uniform Circular Motion
4.5 Tangential and Radial
Acceleration
4.6 Relative Velocity and Relative
Acceleration

▲ Lava spews from a volcanic eruption. Notice the parabolic paths of embers projected into
the air. We will find in this chapter that all projectiles follow a parabolic path in the absence
of air resistance. (© Arndt/Premium Stock/PictureQuest)

77
 In this chapter we explore the kinematics of a particle moving in two dimensions. Know-
ing the basics of two-dimensional motion will allow us to examine—in future chapters—a
wide variety of motions, ranging from the motion of satellites in orbit to the motion of
electrons in a uniform electric field. We begin by studying in greater detail the vector
nature of position, velocity, and acceleration. As in the case of one-dimensional motion,
we derive the kinematic equations for two-dimensional motion from the fundamental
definitions of these three quantities. We then treat projectile motion and uniform circular
motion as special cases of motion in two dimensions. We also discuss the concept of
relative motion, which shows why observers in different frames of reference may measure
y
different positions, velocities, and accelerations for a given particle.

! ti ∆r
" tf
ri
4.1 The Position, Velocity, and
Path of
particle
Acceleration Vectors
rf
x In Chapter 2 we found that the motion of a particle moving along a straight line is
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completely known if its position is known as a function of time. Now let us extend this
Figure 4.1 A particle moving in idea to motion in the xy plane. We begin by describing the position of a particle by its
the xy plane is located with the posi- position vector r, drawn from the origin of some coordinate system to the particle lo-
tion vector r drawn from the origin
cated in the xy plane, as in Figure 4.1. At time ti the particle is at point !, described by
to the particle. The displacement of
the particle as it moves from ! to position vector ri. At some later time tf it is at point ", described by position vector rf .
" in the time interval !t " tf # ti is The path from ! to " is not necessarily a straight line. As the particle moves from !
equal to the vector !r " rf # ri. to " in the time interval !t " tf # ti, its position vector changes from ri to rf . As we
learned in Chapter 2, displacement is a vector, and the displacement of the particle is
the difference between its final position and its initial position. We now define the dis-
placement vector !r for the particle of Figure 4.1 as being the difference between its
final position vector and its initial position vector:
Displacement vector !r ! rf # ri (4.1)

The direction of !r is indicated in Figure 4.1. As we see from the figure, the magnitude of
!r is less than the distance traveled along the curved path followed by the particle.
As we saw in Chapter 2, it is often useful to quantify motion by looking at the ratio
of a displacement divided by the time interval during which that displacement occurs,
which gives the rate of change of position. In two-dimensional (or three-dimensional)
kinematics, everything is the same as in one-dimensional kinematics except that we
must now use full vector notation rather than positive and negative signs to indicate
the direction of motion.
We define the average velocity of a particle during the time interval !t as the dis-
placement of the particle divided by the time interval:

!r
Average velocity v! (4.2)
!t

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 S E C T I O N 4 . 1 • The Position, Velocity, and Acceleration Vectors 79

Mark C. Burnett/Photo Researchers, Inc. Figure 4.2 Bird’s-eye view of a baseball dia-
mond. A batter who hits a home run travels
around the bases, ending up where he began.
Thus, his average velocity for the entire trip is
zero. His average speed, however, is not zero
and is equal to the distance around the bases
divided by the time interval during which he
runs around the bases.

Multiplying or dividing a vector quantity by a positive scalar quantity such as !t

changes only the magnitude of the vector, not its direction. Because displacement is a
vector quantity and the time interval is a positive scalar quantity, we conclude that the
average velocity is a vector quantity directed along !r.
Note that the average velocity between points is independent of the path taken. This is
because average velocity is proportional to displacement, which depends only on the
initial and final position vectors and not on the path taken. As with one-dimensional
motion, we conclude that if a particle starts its motion at some point and returns to
y this point via any path, its average velocity is zero for this trip because its displacement
Direction of v at ! is zero. Figure 4.2 suggests such a situation in a baseball park. When a batter hits a
! home run, he runs around the bases and returns to home plate. Thus, his average ve-
locity is zero during this trip. His average speed, however, is not zero.
Consider again the motion of a particle between two points in the xy plane, as
shown in Figure 4.3. As the time interval over which we observe the motion becomes
smaller and smaller, the direction of the displacement approaches that of the line tan-
∆r1 ∆r2 ∆r3
gent to the path at !. The instantaneous velocity v is defined as the limit of the aver-
age velocity !r/!t as !t approaches zero:
""
"' !r dr
v ! lim " (4.3)
!t : 0 !t dt
"
That is, the instantaneous velocity equals the derivative of the position vector with
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x respect to time. The direction of the instantaneous velocity vector at any point in a par-
Figure 4.3 As a particle moves be- ticle’s path is along a line tangent to the path at that point and in the direction of
tween two points, its average veloc- motion.
ity is in the direction of the dis- The magnitude of the instantaneous velocity vector v " " v " is called the speed,
placement vector !r. As the end which is a scalar quantity.
point of the path is moved from " As a particle moves from one point to another along some path, its instantaneous
to "$ to "%, the respective dis-
placements and corresponding velocity vector changes from vi at time ti to vf at time tf . Knowing the velocity at these
time intervals become smaller and points allows us to determine the average acceleration of the particle—the average
smaller. In the limit that the end acceleration a of a particle as it moves is defined as the change in the instantaneous
point approaches !, !t approaches velocity vector !v divided by the time interval !t during which that change occurs:
zero, and the direction of !r ap-
proaches that of the line tangent to
the curve at !. By definition, the vf # vi !v
a! " (4.4)
instantaneous velocity at ! is tf # ti !t
directed along this tangent line.
80 C H A P T E R 4 • Motion in Two Dimensions

▲ PITFALL PREVENTION y
∆v vf
4.1 Vector Addition vi
!
While the vector addition dis- –vi
cussed in Chapter 3 involves dis- or
" vi
placement vectors, vector addition
can be applied to any type of ri vf ∆v
vf Figure 4.4 A particle moves
vector quantity. Figure 4.4, for rf from position ! to position ".
example, shows the addition of Its velocity vector changes from
velocity vectors using the graphi- vi to vf. The vector diagrams at
cal approach. the upper right show two ways of
x determining the vector !v from
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the initial and final velocities.

Because a is the ratio of a vector quantity !v and a positive scalar quantity !t, we con-
clude that average acceleration is a vector quantity directed along !v. As indicated in
Figure 4.4, the direction of !v is found by adding the vector # vi (the negative of vi) to
the vector vf , because by definition !v " vf # vi.
When the average acceleration of a particle changes during different time inter-
vals, it is useful to define its instantaneous acceleration. The instantaneous accelera-
tion a is defined as the limiting value of the ratio !v/!t as !t approaches zero:

!v dv
Instantaneous acceleration a ! lim " (4.5)
!t : 0 !t dt

In other words, the instantaneous acceleration equals the derivative of the velocity vec-
tor with respect to time.
It is important to recognize that various changes can occur when a particle
accelerates. First, the magnitude of the velocity vector (the speed) may change
with time as in straight-line (one-dimensional) motion. Second, the direction of
the velocity vector may change with time even if its magnitude (speed) remains
constant, as in curved-path (two-dimensional) motion. Finally, both the magni-
tude and the direction of the velocity vector may change simultaneously.

Quick Quiz 4.1 Which of the following cannot possibly be accelerating?

(a) An object moving with a constant speed (b) An object moving with a constant
velocity (c) An object moving along a curve.

Quick Quiz 4.2 Consider the following controls in an automobile: gas pedal,
brake, steering wheel. The controls in this list that cause an acceleration of the car are
(a) all three controls (b) the gas pedal and the brake (c) only the brake (d) only the
gas pedal.

4.2 Two-Dimensional Motion with

Constant Acceleration
In Section 2.5, we investigated one-dimensional motion in which the acceleration is
constant because this type of motion is common. Let us consider now two-dimensional
motion during which the acceleration remains constant in both magnitude and direc-
tion. This will also be useful for analyzing some common types of motion.
The position vector for a particle moving in the xy plane can be written
r " x î & y ĵ (4.6)