Physics Chapter 4
Motion in a Plane
• Motion in a plane is called as motion in two dimensions e.g., projectile motion, circular
motion etc. For the analysis of such motion our reference will be made of an origin and two
co-ordinate axes X and Y.
• Scalar and Vector Quantities
Scalar Quantities. The physical quantities which are completely specified by their magnitude
or size alone are called scalar quantities.
Examples. Length, mass, density, speed, work, etc.
Vector Quantities. Vector quantities are those physical quantities which are characterised by
both magnitude and direction.
Examples. Velocity, displacement, acceleration, force, momentum, torque etc.
Characteristics of Vectors
Following are the characteristics of vectors:
(i) These possess both magnitude and direction.
(ii) These do not obey the ordinary laws of Algebra.
(iii) These change if either magnitude or direction or both change.
(iv) These are represented by bold-faced letters or letters having arrow over them.
• Unit Vector
A unit vector is a vector of unit magnitude and points in a particular direction. It is used to
specify the direction only. Unit vector is represented by putting a cap (^) over the quantity.
Orthogonal Unit Vectors The unit vectors along the direction of orthogonal axis, i.e., X –
axis, Y – axis and Z – axis are called orthogonal unit vectors. They are represented by
Equal Vectors
• Zero Vector
EXAMPLES:-
1. two people pulling a rope in opposite directions with equal force.
2. displacement of throwing an object upward and then again holding it at the same position.
3. the velocity of train standing still on a platform.
4. acceleration of a car going at a uniform speed.
• Negative of a Vector
Parallel Vectors
• Coplanar Vectors
Vectors are said to be coplanar if they lie in the same plane or they are parallel to the same
plane, otherwise they are said to be non-coplanar vectors.
Collinear Vectors Vectors having equal or unequal magnitudes but acting along the same or
Ab parallel lines are called collinear vectors.
• Displacement Vector
The displacement vector is a vector which gives the position of a point with reference to a
point other than the origin of the co-ordinate system.
Displacement Vector= r⃗' - r⃗
Addition and Subtraction of vectors
Let a and b be any two vectors.
Now a-b = a+ (-b)
So we will first reverse the direction of vector b and then follow the vector addition process
From the terminal point of a, vector -b is drawn. Then, the vector from the initial point of a
to the terminal point B of -b is called the sum of vectors a and -b and is denoted by a - b.
Another method to find subtraction of vectors would be
Let draw vector a and vector b from the same initial point. And then draw the line from end
point of vector b to vector [Link] will give a-b
Triangle Law of Vector Addition
If two vectors are represented both in magnitude and direction by the two sides of a triangle
taken in the same order, then the resultant of these vectors is represented both in magnitude
and direction by the third side of the triangle taken in the opposite order.
Triangle Law of Vector Addition Derivation
Consider two vectors P and Q acting on a body and represented both in magnitude and
direction by sides OA and AB respectively of a triangle OAB. Let θ be the angle between
P and Q. Let R be the resultant of vectors P and Q. Then, according to triangle law of vector
addition, side OB represents the resultant of P and Q.
So, we have
R=P+Q
Now, expand A to C and draw BC perpendicular to OC.
From triangle OCB,
In triangle ACB,
Also,
Magnitude of resultant:
Substituting value of AC and BC in (i), we get
which is the magnitude of resultant.
Direction of resultant: Let ø be the angle made by resultant R with P. Then,
From triangle OBC,
which is the direction of resultant.
Special cases :-
Polygon Law of Vector Addition
If a number of vectors are represented both in magnitude and direction by the sides of a
polygon taken in the same order, then the resultant vector is represented both in magnitude
and direction by the closing side of the polygon taken in the opposite order.
Properties of Vector Addition
(i) Vector addition is commutative, i.e., A + B = B + A
(ii) Vector addition is associative, i.e.A +(B + C)= B + (C + A)= C + (A + B)
(iii) Vector addition is distributive, i.e., m (A + B) = m A + m B
Statement of Parallelogram Law
If two vectors acting simultaneously at a point can be represented both in magnitude and
direction by the adjacent sides of a parallelogram drawn from a point, then the resultant
vector is represented both in magnitude and direction by the diagonal of the parallelogram
passing through that point.
Let P and Q be two vectors acting simultaneously at a point and represented both in
magnitude and direction by two adjacent sides OA and OD of a parallelogram OABD as
shown in [Link] θ be the angle between P and Q and R be the resultant vector. Then,
according to parallelogram law of vector addition, diagonal OB represents the resultant
of P and Q.
So, we have
R=P+Q
Now, expand A to C and draw BC perpendicular to OC.
From triangle OCB,
In triangle ABC,
BC=Q sinθ
Magnitude of resultant:
Substituting value of AC and BC in (i), we get
which is the magnitude of resultant.
Direction of resultant: Let ø be the angle made by resultant R with P. Then,
From triangle OBC,
which is the direction of resultant.
Case 1: When the two vectors are acting in the same direction θ=0 ∅ =0
R=√ P2+ Q2 = P+Q tanθ =0
Case 2: When the two vectors are acting in the opposite direction θ=180o
cosθ=−1 sinθ=0
R=√ P2−Q2 = P-Q tanθ=0
Case 3: When the two vectors are perpendicular to each other θ=90o
1
R= tanθ =0 tan∅ =0
√ P +Q2
2
Resolution of Vectors
A vector can be expressed in terms of other vectors in the same plane. If there are 3 vectors
A, a and b, then A can be expressed as sum of a and b after multiplying them with some real
numbers.
A can be resolved into two component vectors λa and μb. Hence, A = λa + μb. Here λ and μ
are real numbers.
Resolution of a Vector into Rectangular Components
If any vector A subtends an angle θ with x-axis, then its
Horizontal component Ax = A cos θ
Vertical component Ay = A sin θ
Magnitude of vector A = √Ax2 + Ay2
tan θ = Ay / Ax
In a 2-dimensional plane, a vector is represented as:
A = Ax î +Ay ĵ where, Ax = A cosθ and Ay = A sinθ A =√ A 2x + A 2y
MOTION IN A PLANE WITH CONSTANT
ACCELERATION
Suppose that an object is moving in x-y plane and its acceleration a is
constant. Over an
interval of time, the average acceleration will equal this constant value.
Now, let the velocity
of the object be v0 at time t = 0 and v at time t. Then, by definition
Motion in a plane (two-dimensions) can be treated as two separate
simultaneous one-dimensional motions with constant acceleration along
two perpendicular directions.
Scalar or Dot Product of Two Vectors
Scalar Product-The scalar product or dot product of any
two vectors A and B, denoted as A.B=ABcosθ
The scalar product of two vectors is equal to the product of their magnitudes and the cosine
of the smaller angle between them. A * B = AB cos θ. The scalar or dot product of two
vectors is a scalar.
Properties of Scalar Product
(i) Scalar product is commutative, i.e., A * B= B * A
(ii) Scalar product is distributive, i.e., A * (B + C) = A * B + A * C
(iii) Scalar product of two perpendicular vectors is zero.
A * B = AB cos 90° = O
(iv) Scalar product of two parallel vectors is equal to the product of their magnitudes,
i.e., A * B = AB cos 0° = AB
(v) Scalar product of a vector with itself is equal to the square of its magnitude, i.e.,
A * A = AA cos 0° = A2
(vi) Scalar product of orthogonal unit vectors
and
(vii) Scalar product in cartesian coordinates
= AxBx + AyBy + AzBz
Vector or Cross Product of Two Vectors
The vector product of two vectors is equal to the product of their magnitudes and the sine of
the smaller angle between them. It is denoted by * (cross).
A * B = AB sin θ n
The direction of unit vector n can be obtained from right hand thumb rule.
If fingers of right hand are curled from A to B through smaller angle between them, then
thumb will represent the direction of vector (A * B).
The vector or cross product of two vectors is also a vector.
Properties of Vector Product
(i) Vector product is not commutative, i.e.,
A * B ≠ B * A [∴ (A * B) = — (B * A)]
(ii) Vector product is distributive, i.e.,
A * (B + C) = A * B + A * C
(iii) Vector product of two parallel vectors is zero, i.e.,
A * B = AB sin O° = 0
(iv) Vector product of any vector with itself is zero.
A * A = AA sin O° = 0
(v) Vector product of orthogonal unit vectors
(vi) Vector product in cartesian coordinates
Direction of Vector Cross Product
When C = A * B, the direction of C is at right angles to the plane containing the vectors A
and B. The direction is determined by the right hand screw rule and right hand thumb rule.
(i) Right Hand Screw Rule Rotate a right handed screw from first vector (A) towards
second vector (B). The direction in which the right handed screw moves gives the direction of
vector (C).
(ii) Right Hand Thumb Rule Curl the fingers of your right hand from A to B. Then, the
direction of the erect thumb will point in the direction of A * B.
Projectile Motion
Projectile motion is the motion of an object thrown or projected into the air with an initial
velocity, subject to only the acceleration of gravity. When any object is thrown from
horizontal at an angle θ except 90°, then the path followed by it is called trajectory, the
object is called projectile and its motion is called projectile motion.
A body that is in flight after it is thrown or projected is called a projectile. The motion of the
projectile is the result of two separate but simultaneously occurring components of motion. One is
the horizontal component without any acceleration and the other is the vertical component with
constant acceleration due to gravity. We neglect the effect of air resistance on the motion of the
projectile.
If any object is thrown with velocity u, making an angle θ, from horizontal, then
In a Projectile Motion, there are two simultaneous independent rectilinear motions:
Horizontal component of initial velocity = u cos θ. Vertical component of initial
velocity = u sin θ.
Horizontal component of velocity (u cos θ) remains same during the whole journey as
no acceleration is acting horizontally.
Vertical component of velocity (u sin θ) decreases gradually and becomes zero at
highest point of the path.
At highest point, the velocity of the body is u cos θ in horizontal direction and the
angle between the velocity and acceleration is 90°.
In terms of initial velocity ‘u’ and angle θ components of initial velocity are
Ux=ucosθ
Uy=usinθ
The equation of Trajectory: Let, the position of the ball at any instant (t) be P (x, y). Now,
from Equations of Motion:
x
x = t × u cos θ ⇒ t= ……….(1)
u cos θ
1 2
y = u sin θ × t – g t . . . . . . (2)
2
On substituting Equation (1) in Equation (2):
2
x 1 x
y=u sin θ ⋅ − g 2 2
u cos θ 2 u cos θ
g 2
or y=x tanθ− 2 2
x
2u cos θ
or y = px – qx2 where p and q are constants.
Thus, y is a quadratic function of x. Hence the trajectory of projectile is a parabola.
The point O is called the point of projection; θ is the angle of projection and OB =
Horizontal Range or Simply Range. The total time taken by the particle to cover the range is
called the time of flight.
various expressions for projectile motion
1.) Time of Flight ⇒ In y - 2.) Maximum Height: 3.) Horizontal Range:
direction, u = u sinθ , a = −g , v = 0
(at highest point) At maximum height the Since, the projectile is in the
Now, Using the first equation of projectile will only have air for a duration T
motion, horizontal component R = u in x direction × T
⇒R = ucosθ × 2usinθ/g
⇒R=u² 2sinθcosθ/g
v = u + at that is
∴ R=u²sin2θ/g
ux=ucosθ
0 = usinθ – gt vy2−uy2=2as
⇒ gt = usinθ
vy=0(at maxheight H)
uy=usinθ
⇒t = usinθ/g ay=−g
Puttingthesevalues,
Since t is only half of the total 0=(usinθ)2−2gH
time, therefore we can calculate H=u2sin2θ/2g
total time of the journey as
⇒T= 2usinθ/g
T = 2t
Maximum Horizontal Range:
R is maximum when sin2θo is maximum,
i.e. when θo=45o.
The maximum horizontal range is, therefore
Rm=u2/g
Uniform circular motion:
When a body moves in a circular path at a constant speed, it is said to be in uniform circular
motion. As the body is continuously changing its direction of motion, its velocity changes
continuously. Since the velocity of the body is changing, it has acceleration. The acceleration
of a body moving with a constant speed v in a circle of radius R has a magnitude v2/R and it
always acts radially directed towards the centre of the circle. This acceleration is called
centripetal acceleration.
∆θ
the time rate of change of angular displacement ∆ ω=
∆t
Now, if the distance travelled by the object
during the time ∆ t is ∆ s, i.e. PP′is ∆ s, then
Since the change of velocity is directed towards the center of the circular path, the
acceleration responsible for the change in velocity is also directed towards center of
circular path and hence it is known as centripetal acceleration.