Motion in Two and

Three Dimensions
Position and Velocity Vectors
The position vector of a particle is a vector that
goes from the origin of the coordinate system to
the point P

3.20

During a time interval t the particle moves from

P1 where its position vector is r1 to P2 where its
position vector is r2. The change in position (the
displacement) during this interval is:

The average velocity

3.21
The average velocity is equal to the
displacement vector multiplied by the reciprocal
of the time interval .
The instantaneous velocity is the limit of the average velocity as the
time interval approaches zero, and it equals the instantaneous rate of
change of position with time. The key difference is that position r and
instantaneous velocity v are now both vectors:
3.22

The magnitude of the vector v at

any instant is the speed of the
particle at that instant.

The direction of v at any instant is

the same as the direction in which
the particle is moving at that
instant.

During any displacement r the

changes x , y and z in the
three coordinates of the particle
are the components r.
It follows that the components vx, vy, and vz of the instantaneous
velocity v, are simply the time derivatives of the coordinates x, y,
and z. That is,
3.23

We can also get Eq. (3.23) by taking the derivative of Eq. (3.20).
The unit vectors and are constant in magnitude and
direction

3.24

This shows again that the components of v are dx/dt, dy/dt, and
dz/dt.
The magnitude of the instantaneous velocity vector —that is, the
speed—is given in terms of the components vx, vy and vz by the
Pythagorean relation:

3.26
When the particle moves in the xy-plane (as shown in fig), z and vz
are zero. Then the speed (the magnitude of v) is

and the direction of the instantaneous

velocity v is given by the angle  in the
figure.

The instantaneous velocity vector is

usually more interesting and useful
than the average velocity vector.
The two velocity components
for motion in the xy-plane.
 The Acceleration Vector
Velocity as a vector, acceleration will describe changes in the magnitude or
direction of velocity.

In Fig., a car is moving along a curved road. The vectors v1 and v2 represent
the car’s instantaneous velocities at time t1, when the car is at point P1 and at
time t2 when the car is at point P2. The two velocities may differ in both
magnitude and direction.

During the time interval from t1 to t2 the vector change in velocity is

v2 - v1 = v , so v2 = v1 + v.

We define the average acceleration aav of the car during this time interval as
the velocity change divided by the time interval.
In the limit t to zero, the instantaneous acceleration a at that instant is,

We can write in unit-vector form as

where the scalar components of are

When a particle is moving in a curved path, it always has non-zero
acceleration, even when it moves with constant speed. If the path is curved,
a points toward the concave side of the path.

Horses on a Curved Path

Parallel and Perpendicular Components of Acceleration
The acceleration can be resolved into a a
(that is, along the tangent to the path) and
a (that is, along the radial direction).
The parallel component tells us about
changes in the particle’s speed, while the
perpendicular component tells us about
changes in the particle’s direction of
motion.
The effect of acceleration directed (a)
parallel to and (b) perpendicular to a
particle’s velocity.
Velocity and acceleration vectors for a particle
moving through a point P on a curved path with
(a) constant speed, (b) increasing speed, and (c)
decreasing speed.
 Projectile Motion
A projectile is an object upon which the only force acting is gravity.
A batted baseball, a thrown football, a package dropped from an airplane, and a
bullet shot from a rifle are all projectiles.
The path followed by a projectile is called its trajectory.

The model use to analyze

this type of motion
represents the projectile as
a particle with an
acceleration (due to
gravity) that is constant in
both magnitude and
direction.

The trajectory of an
idealized projectile.
Projectile motion is always confined to a
vertical plane determined by the direction
of the initial velocity. This is because the
acceleration due to gravity is purely
vertical; gravity can’t accelerate the
projectile sideways. So, x-component of
acceleration is zero, and the y-component
is constant and equal to -g.
We can analyze projectile motion as a
combination of horizontal motion with
constant velocity and vertical motion with The red ball is dropped from rest,
constant acceleration. and the yellow ball is projected
In projectile motion, the horizontal horizontally; successive images
motion and the vertical motion are are separated by equal time
intervals. At any given time, both
independent of each other; that is, neither balls have the same y-position, y-
motion affects the other. The key to velocity, and y-acceleration,
analyzing projectile motion is that we can despite having different x-
treat the x- and y-coordinates separately. positions and x-velocities.
We can then express all the vector relationships for the projectile’s position,
velocity, and acceleration by separate equations for the horizontal and vertical
components. The components of a are

Since the x-acceleration and y-acceleration are both constant, we can use the
equations of motion directly.
The components of acceleration are ax= 0, ay = -g

For the y-motion ay = -g :

Simplify the problem by taking origin at t = 0 and xo = yo = 0

If air resistance is negligible, the trajectory of a projectile is a combination of
horizontal motion with constant velocity and vertical motion with constant
acceleration.
The distance r of the projectile from the origin at
any time t is given by

The projectile’s speed (the magnitude of its

velocity) at any time is The initial velocity components vox
and voy of a projectile are related to
Equation for the trajectory’s shape in terms of x the initial speed v0 and initial angle
and y, 0.

Which is equation of a parabola

The Horizontal range:
The horizontal range R of the projectile is the horizontal distance the
projectile has traveled when it returns to its initial height

Eliminate t 𝑅 = 𝑣0 cos 𝜃 𝑡
0 = 𝑣0 sin 𝜃 𝑡 − 12𝑔𝑡
2𝑣02 𝑣02
𝑅= sin 𝜃 cos 𝜃 = sin 2𝜃
𝑔 𝑔
The horizontal range R is maximum for a launch angle of 45°.

The Height:
𝑣02
ℎ= sin2 𝜃
2𝑔
𝑅 tan 𝜃
ℎ=
4
Time of Flight:
2𝑣𝑜
𝑡= sin 𝜃
𝑔
When air resistance isn’t negligible, its effects the velocity, so the
acceleration is no longer constant.
Shooting a Falling Target

gt2 /2
 Uniform Circular Motion
Uniform circular motion describes the motion
of a body traversing a circular path at constant
speed.

Since the body describes circular motion, its

distance from the axis of rotation remains
constant at all times.

Though the body's speed is constant, its velocity

is not constant: velocity, a vector quantity,
depends on both the body's speed and its
direction of travel.

This acceleration is, in turn, produced by a centripetal force which is also

constant in magnitude and directed towards the axis of rotation.
Fig. (a) shows a particle moving with constant speed
in a circular path of radius R with center at O. The
particle moves from P1 to P2 in a t time. The vector
change in velocity during this time is shown in Fig.
(b). The angles  labeled in Figs. (a) and (b) are the
same because v1 is perpendicular to the line P1 and
v2 is perpendicular to the line P2. Hence the triangles
in Figs. are similar. The ratios of corresponding
sides of similar triangles are equal, so

The magnitude of the average acceleration during t

is therefore

The magnitude a of the instantaneous acceleration at

point P1 is the limit of this expression as we take
point P2 closer and closer to point P1:
If the time interval is short, s is the distance the particle moves along its
curved path. So the limit of s/t is the speed v1 at point P1. Also, P1 can be
any point on the path, so we can drop the subscript and let v represent the
speed at any point. Then

In uniform circular motion, the magnitude

arad of the instantaneous acceleration is equal
to the square of the speed divided by the
radius R of the circle. Its direction is
perpendicular to and inward along the
radius.

Because the acceleration in uniform circular

motion is always directed toward the center
of the circle, it is sometimes called
centripetal acceleration.
In many situations it is convenient to describe the motion of a particle
moving with constant speed in a circle of radius r in terms of the period
T, which is defined as the time required for one complete revolution.

The magnitude of the acceleration in uniform circular motion can be

expressed in terms of the period T of the motion, the time for one
revolution (one complete trip around the circle).

In a time T the particle travels a distance equal to the circumference

2R of the circle, so its speed is

we get 6.2

6.3
 Relative Velocity
In general, when two observers measure the velocity of a moving body, they get
different results if one observer is moving relative to the other.
The velocity seen by a particular observer is called the velocity relative to that
observer, or simply relative velocity.
The position of the passenger relative
to the cyclist’s frame of reference and
the train’s frame of reference.
When the passenger looks out the window, the stationary cyclist on the
ground appears to her to be moving backward; we can call the cyclist’s
velocity relative to her vA/P-x. Clearly, this is just the negative of the
passenger’s velocity relative to the cyclist, vP/A-x.
In general, if A and B are any two points or frames of reference,

Here we consider only frames that move at constant

velocity relative to each other. To relate an
acceleration of P as measured, take
the time derivative of Eq. 6.6

Because vBA is constant, the last term is zero and we have

Observers on different frames of reference that move at constant velocity

relative to each other will measure the same acceleration for a moving
particle.
 Relative Motion in Two Dimensions

By taking the time derivative of this equation, we

can relate the velocities of particle P relative to
our observers:

By taking the time derivative of this relation, we

can relate the accelerations of the particle P
Frame B has the constant two-
dimensional velocity relative to
relative to our observers. However, note that
frame A. because vBA is constant, its time derivative is
zero. Thus, we get

Observers on different frames of reference that move at constant velocity

relative to each other will measure the same acceleration for a moving
particle.
Questions ?