Motion in Two Dimensions

Dr. R. Taziwa
WSU Department of Applied Science
 Motion in Two Dimensions
Vectors & Vector algebra.
 Displacement & position in 2-D.
 Average & instantaneous velocity in 2-D.
 Average & instantaneous acceleration in 2-D.
 Projectile motion.
 Uniform circular motion.
 Relative velocity*.

February 5-8, 2013

 Motion in Two Dimensions

Using + or – signs is not always sufficient to

fully describe motion in more than one
dimension
 Vectors can be used to more fully describe motion
Still interested in displacement, velocity, and
acceleration
Will serve as the basis of multiple types of
motion in future chapters

February 5-8, 2013

 Vector and its components
 The components are the   
legs of the right triangle A  Ax  Ay
whose hypotenuse is A
 Ax  A cos( )  Ay 
 A  Ax2  Ay2 and   tan  
1
 Ay  A sin(  )  Ax 

 A   A 2  A 2
 x y

 Or,
1  y 
Ay A
tan    or   tan  
 Ax  Ax 

February 5-8, 2013

 Vector Algebra
  
 Which diagram can represent r  r2  r1 ?
 
A) 
r B) 
r
r1 r1
  r1
r2 r2

 
C) 
r D)  r
r1 r1
 
r2 r2

February 5-8, 2013

Position & Displacement
Position vector:

• The position of an
object is described by
its position vector, r
Position & Displacement
Displacement:
• The displacement of the
object is defined as the
change in its position

February 5-8, 2013

 Position & Displacement
 In one dimension
x  x2 (t2 )  x1 (t1 )
x1 (t1) = - 3.0 m, x2 (t2) = + 1.0 m
Δx = +1.0 m + 3.0 m = +4.0 m   
r  r2  r1

 In two dimensions
 Position: the position of an object is

described by its position vector r (t )
--always points to particle from origin.
  
 Displacement: r  r  r
2 1

r  ( x2iˆ  y2 ˆj )  ( x1iˆ  y1 ˆj )
 ( x2  x1 )iˆ  ( y2  y1 ) ˆj
 xiˆ  yˆj
February 5-8, 2019
 General Motion Ideas

 In two- or three-dimensional kinematics,

everything is the same as in one-
dimensional motion except that we must
now use full vector notation

 Positive and negative signs are no longer

sufficient to determine the direction

February 5-8, 2013

 I. Definitions

Position vector: extends from the origin of a coordinate

system to the particle.

r  xiˆ  yˆj  zkˆ

Displacement vector: represents a particle’s position

change during a certain time interval.
  
 r  r2  r1  ( x2  x1)iˆ  ( y2  y1) ˆj  ( z2  z1)kˆ
February 5-8, 2013
EXAMPLE 1: Displacement
In Fig., the position vector for a
particle is initially at

and then later is

What is the particle's displacement r1 to r2 ?

from
February 5-8, 2013
EXAMPLE 1b
A rabbit runs across a parking lot
on which a set of coordinate axes
has, strangely enough, been
drawn. The coordinates of the
rabbit’s position as functions of
time t (second) are given by

At t=15 s, what is the rabbit’s

position vector in unit-vector
notation and in magnitude-angle
notation? February 5-8, 2013
 Average Velocity
• The average velocity is the ratio of the
displacement to the time interval for the
displacement.

r
v
t

The direction of the average velocity is the direction of

the displacement vector, Δr

February 5-8, 2013

Average & Instantaneous Velocity

February 5-8, 2013

 Average & Instantaneous Velocity

 Average velocity v    r
t
avg

 x ˆ y ˆ
vavg  i j  vavg , x iˆ  vavg , y ˆj
t t

 Instantaneous velocity
 
  r dr
v  lim vavg  lim 
t 0 t 0 t dt

 dr dx ˆ dy ˆ
v  i j  v x iˆ  v y ˆj
dt dt dt

• The instantaneous velocity is the limit of the average velocity

as Δt approaches zero
The direction of the instantaneous velocity is along a line that
is tangent to the path of the particle’s direction of motion
 Instantaneous velocity:

The direction of the instantaneous velocity of a particle is

always tangent to the particle’s path at the particle’s position

February 5-8, 2013

Average and Instantaneous Velocity

February 5-8, 2013

Example 2a
A rabbit runs across a parking lot on
which a set of coordinate axes has,
strangely enough, been drawn. The
coordinates of the rabbit’s position as
functions of time t (second) are given
by

At t=15 s, what is the rabbit’s

acceleration vector in unit-vector
notation and in magnitude-angle
notation? February 5-8, 2013
 Average Acceleration

• The average acceleration of a particle as it

moves is defined as the change in the
instantaneous velocity vector divided by
the time interval during which that change
occurs.
v f  vi v
a 
t f  ti t

February 5-8, 2013

 Average and Instantaneous Acceleration

Average acceleration is

v vx v y vz
a   i j k  ax i  a y j  az k
t t t t

Instantaneous acceleration is

February 5-8, 2013

 Average Acceleration

• As a particle
moves, Δv can be
found in different
ways
• The average
acceleration is a
vector quantity
directed along Δv

  
 v2  v1 v
aavg  
t t February 5-8, 2013
Average & Instantaneous Acceleration
 Average acceleration
 v v y
aavg  x iˆ  ˆj  aavg , xiˆ  aavg , y ˆj
t t

 Instantaneous acceleration
  
  v dv  dv dvx ˆ dv y ˆ
a  lim aavg  lim  a  i j  a xiˆ  a y ˆj
t 0 t 0 t dt dt dt dt

 The magnitude of the velocity (the speed) can change

 The direction of the velocity can change, even though the
magnitude is constant
 Both the magnitude and the direction can change
February 5-8, 2013
 Speed up or slow down

 If the velocity and acceleration components

along a given axis have the same sign then
they are in the same direction. In this case,
the object will speed up.

 If the acceleration and velocity components

have opposite signs, then they are in opposite
directions. Under these conditions, the object
will slow down.

February 5-8, 2013

 Summary in two dimension

 Position r (t )  xiˆ  yˆj

 r x ˆ y ˆ
v 
 Average velocity avg
 i j  vavg , x iˆ  vavg , y ˆj
t t t
dx dy
 Instantaneous velocity v x  v y 
dt dt
 
 r dr dx ˆ dy ˆ
v (t )  lim   i j  v x iˆ  v y ˆj
t 0 t dt dt dt
dv x d 2 x d2y
dv y
 Acceleration ax   2 ay   2
dt dt dt dt
 
 v dv dvx ˆ dv y ˆ
a (t )  lim   i j  axiˆ  a y ˆj
t 0 t dt dt dt
  
 r (t), v (t ), and a (t ) are not necessarily same direction.

February 5-8, 2013