Chapter 4.
Motion in two and three
dimensions
(chapter 2 was motion in one dimensions)
Contents
▪ Projectile motion
▪ Relative motion
Position and displacement
1-dimension Position
• The position of a particle can be described by a
position vector, with respect to a reference
origin.
x
Displacement
• The displacement of a particle is the change of
the position vector during a certain time.
∆x
Average velocity and instantaneous velocity
If a particle moves through a displacement of Dr in Dt time, then the
average velocity is:
In the limit that the Dt time shrinks to a single point in time, the average
velocity is approaches instantaneous velocity. This velocity is the
derivative of displacement with respect to time.
Average and instantaneous accelerations
Following the same definition as in average velocity,
If we shrink Dt to zero, then the average acceleration value approaches to the instant
acceleration value, which is the derivative of velocity with respect to time:
Projectile motion
• A particle moves in a vertical plane, with the only acceleration equal to the free fall
acceleration, g.
• In projectile motion, the horizontal motion and the vertical motion are independent of
each other, that is; neither motion affect the other.
The initial velocity of the projectile is:
Here,
Projectile motion
Horizontal Motion: Vertical Motion;
no acceleration acceleration = g
Eliminate time, t:
Horizontal range
• The horizontal range of a projectile is the horizontal distance when it returns to its
launching height
• The distance equations in the x- and y- directions respectively:
Eliminating t:
Interesting example
Example
Example
Relative motion
• The velocity of a particle depends on the reference frame of whoever is observing the
velocity.
• Suppose Alex (A) is at the origin of
frame A, watching car P (the
“particle”) speed past.
• Suppose Barbara (B) is at the origin
of frame B, and is driving along the
highway at constant speed, also
watching car P. Suppose that they
both measure the position of the
car at a given moment. Then:
• Also
where xPA is the position of P as
measured by A. Consequently,
Since vBA is constant, the last term
is zero and we have
aPA = aPB.
Example
Relative motion in two-dimensions
• A and B, the two observers, are watching P, the moving particle, from their origins of
reference. B moves at a constant velocity with respect to A, while the
corresponding axes of the two frames remain parallel. rPA refers to the position of P
as observed by A, and so on. From the situation, it is concluded:
Example
Example
At least, remember this
▪ Projectile motion
Horizontal Motion: Vertical Motion;
no acceleration acceleration = g