Chapter 3

Vectors and Two-Dimensional Motion

Souphanouvong University Mr. Pem PHAKVISETH

Faculty of Engineering
1
Department of Materials Science and Engineering
 Outline
• Vectors (Adding, Subtracting,…)
• Components of a vector
• Motion in two dimension
 Displacement
 Velocity
 Acceleration
• Relative Velocity

2
 Vector vs. Scalar Review
 All physical quantities encountered in this text will be either a scalar or
a vector
 A vector quantity has both magnitude (size) and direction
 A scalar is completely specified by only a magnitude (size)

Vector Notation
• When handwritten, use an arrow: A
• When printed, will be in bold print with an arrow: A
• When dealing with just the magnitude of a vector in print, an italic letter
will be used: A
3
 Properties of Vectors
• Equality of Two Vectors
• Two vectors are equal if they have the same magnitude and the same
direction
• Movement of vectors in a diagram
• Any vector can be moved parallel to itself without being affected
• Negative Vectors
• Two vectors are negative if they have the same magnitude but are
180° apart (opposite directions)
• A  B; A   A   0
• Resultant Vector
• The resultant vector is the sum of a given set of vectors
R  A B 4
 Adding Vectors Geometrically (Triangle or Polygon Method)

• Choose a scale
• Draw the first vector Awith the appropriate length and
direction, with respect to a coordinate system
• Draw the next vector using tip-to-tail principle to A
• The resultant is drawn from the origin of Ato the end of the last
vector

5
 Adding Vectors, multiple vectors

 When you have many

vectors, just keep repeating
the process until all are
included
 The resultant is still drawn
from the origin of the first
vector to the end of the last
vector

Does it matter if you add them with another order?

6
 Commutative Law of Addition
 The order in which the vectors are added doesn’t affect
the result
 A B B A

7
Application: Archery

8
 Vector Subtraction
• Special case of vector addition
• Add the negative of the
subtracted vector
• A  B  A  B  
• Continue with standard vector
addition procedure

9
 Multiplying or Dividing a Vector by a Scalar
• The result of the multiplication or division is a vector
• The magnitude of the vector is multiplied or divided by the scalar
• If the scalar is positive, the direction of the result is the same as of the
original vector
• If the scalar is negative, the direction of the result is opposite that of the
original vector

10
 Example 3.1 Adding vectors
A car travels 20.0 km due north and then 35.0 km in a
direction 60.0° west of north, as in Figure. Using a graph, find the
magnitude and direction of a single vector that gives the net effect
of the car’s trip. This vector is called the car’s resultant
displacement.

11
 Components of a Vector
 A component is a part
 It is useful to use
rectangular components
 These are the
projections of the
vector along the x- and
y-axes

12
 More About Components, cont.
• The components are the legs of the right triangle whose hypotenuse is
 Ay 
A Ax2  Ay2 and   tan1  
 Ax 
• The value will be correct only if the angle lies in the first or fourth
quadrant
• In the second or third quadrant, add 180°

13
 Other Coordinate Systems

• It may be convenient to use a

coordinate system other than
horizontal and vertical
• Choose axes that are
perpendicular to each other
• Adjust the components
accordingly

14
 Example 3.2 Components
(a) Find the horizontal and vertical components of the d=1.00×102m
displacement of a superhero who flies from the top of a tall building along
the path. (b) Suppose instead the superhero leaps in the other direction
along a displacement vector B to the top of a flagpole where the
displacement components are given by Bx=-25.0 m and By=10.0 m. Find
the magnitude and direction of the displacement vector.

15
 Adding Vectors Algebraically
• Choose a coordinate system and sketch the vectors
• Find the x- and y-components of all the vectors
• Add all the x-components
• This gives Rx: R x   v x
• Add all the y-components
• This gives Ry: R y   v y
• Use the Pythagorean Theorem and the inverse tangent function to find
the magnitude and direction of R:
1
Ry
R  R R 2
x
2
y
  tan
Rx
16
 Example 3.3 Adding vectors algebraically
A hiker begins a trip by first walking 25.0 km 45.0° south of east from
her base camp. On the second day she walks 40.0 km in a direction 60.0°
north of east, at which point she discovers a forest ranger’s tower. (a)
Determine the components of the hiker’s displacements in the first and
second days. (b) Determine the components of the hiker’s total
displacement for the trip. (c) Find the magnitude and direction of the
displacement from base camp.

17
Group problem: Adding vectors
A cruise ship leaving port travels 50.0 km 45.0° north of west and
then 70.0 km at a heading 30.0° north of east. Find (a) the ship’s
displacement vector and (b) the displacement vector’s magnitude and
direction.

18
 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

19
 Displacement
 The position of an object is
described by its position
vector, r
 The displacement of the
object is defined as the
change in its position
 r  rf  ri
 Units: m

20
 Velocity
• The average velocity is the ratio of the displacement to the time interval
for the displacement r
v av 
t
• 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 and in the direction of motion
• Units: m/s

21
 Acceleration
• The average acceleration is defined as the rate at which the velocity
changes
v
aav 
t

• The instantaneous acceleration is the limit of the average acceleration as

Δt approaches zero

• Units: m/s2

22
23
 With gravity
If there was no
gravity…

Two balls dropped

24
25
26
 What is a projectile?
• A projectile is any object that falls
through the air. These objects are
accelerated downward by the force
of gravity.
I don’t
want to be
• The KEY is that the ONLY FORCE a projectile!
acting on the projectile is
GRAVITY!

27
 Projectile Motion
• An object may move in both the x and y directions simultaneously
• It moves in two dimensions
• The form of two dimensional motion we will deal with is an important
special case called projectile motion

Assumptions of Projectile Motion

• We may ignore air friction
• We may ignore the rotation of the earth
• With these assumptions, an object in projectile motion will follow a
parabolic path
28
 Rules of Projectile Motion
• The x- and y-directions of motion are completely independent of each
other
• The x-direction is uniform motion
• ax = 0
• The y-direction is free fall
• ay = -g
• The initial velocity can be broken down into its x- and y-components
• vOx  vO cos O vOy  vO sinO

29
Projectile Motion

30
 Projectile Motion at Various Initial Angles

 Complementary values of
the initial angle result in the
same range
 The heights will be
different
 The maximum range occurs
at a projection angle of 45o

31
 Velocity of the Projectile
• The velocity of the projectile at any point of its motion is the
vector sum of its x and y components at that point
vy
v  v x2  v y2 and   tan1
vx
• Remember to be careful about the angle’s quadrant

Projectile Motion Summary

• Provided air resistance is negligible, the horizontal component of the
velocity remains constant
• Since ax = 0
• The vertical component of the velocity vy is equal to the free fall
acceleration –g
• Projectile motion can be described as a superposition of two
independent motions in the x- and y-directions 32
 Problem-Solving Strategy
• Select a coordinate system and sketch the path of the projectile
• Include initial and final positions, velocities, and accelerations
• Resolve the initial velocity into x- and y-components
• Treat the horizontal and vertical motions independently
• Follow the techniques for solving problems with constant velocity to
analyze the horizontal motion of the projectile
• Follow the techniques for solving problems with constant acceleration to
analyze the vertical motion of the projectile

33
 Example 3.5 Projectile motion
An Alaskan rescue plane drops a package of emergency rations to
stranded hikers, as shown in Figure3.19. The plane is traveling
horizontally at 40.0 m/s at a height of 1.00× 102 m above the ground.
(a) Where does the package strike the ground relative to the point at
which it was released? (b) What are the horizontal and vertical
components of the velocity of the package just before it hits the
ground? (c) Find the angle of the impact.

34
 Example 3.8 Motion in 2D

A ball is thrown upward from the top

of a building at an angle of 30.0° to
the horizontal and with an initial speed
of 20.0 m/s, as in Figure. The point of
release is 45.0 m above the ground. (a)
How long does it take for the ball to hit
the ground. (b)Find the ball’s speed at
impact. (c) Find the horizontal range
of the stone. Neglect air resistance.

35
 Group Question: Angry Bird
Birds and pigs are in the same level in this scene.
Angry birds leaves slingshot at a speed of 6.00m/s.
At which angle should you shoot out those birds in
order to hit the first and third pig?

3.67 m
3.18 m

36
 Relative Velocity
• Relative velocity is about relating the measurements of two different
observers
• It may be useful to use a moving frame of reference instead of a
stationary one
• It is important to specify the frame of reference, since the motion may
be different in different frames of reference
• There are no specific equations to learn to solve relative velocity
problems

37
 Relative Velocity Notation
• The pattern of subscripts can be useful in solving relative velocity
problems
• Assume the following notation:
• E is an observer, stationary with respect to the earth
• A and B are two moving cars

Relative Position Equations

• r is the position of car A as measured by E
AE

• r is the position of car B as measured by E

BE

• rAB is the position of car A as measured by car B

• rAB  rAE  rBE
38
 Relative Position

 The position of car A

relative to car B is
given by the vector
subtraction equation

39
 Relative Velocity Equations
• The rate of change of the displacements gives the relationship for
the velocities
v AB  v AE  v BE

Problem-Solving Strategy: Relative Velocity

• Label all the objects with a descriptive letter
• Look for phrases such as “velocity of A relative to B”
• Write the velocity variables with appropriate notation
• If there is something not explicitly noted as being relative to
something else, it is probably relative to the earth
40
Problem-Solving Strategy: Relative Velocity, cont
• Take the velocities and put them into an equation
• Keep the subscripts in an order analogous to the standard equation
• Solve for the unknown(s)

41
 Example 3.11 Crossing a river
The boat in Figure 3.24 is heading
due north as it crosses a wide river
with a velocity of 10.0 km/h relative
to the water. The river has a uniform
velocity of 5.00 km/h due east.
Determine the magnitude and
direction of the boat’s velocity with
respect to an observer on the
riverbank.

42
 Group Question: Current
If the skipper of the boat of Example 3.11 moves with the same speed
of 10.0 km/h relative to the water but now wants to travel due north, as
in Figure 3.25a, in what direction should he head? What is the speed of
the boat, according to an observer on the shore? The river is flowing
east at 5.00 km/h.

43
 Thank you for your attention !!!

감사합니다 !!!

Next Chapter is The laws

Souphanouvong University of Motion
Faculty of Engineering
Department of Materials Science and Engineering
44
 Topic

Some Images in this Chapter were

taken from:
Publicatio
Main / Sub Title Writer Publisher
n Year
Serway, BROOKS/COLE
College Physics, 8th
Main Vuille, Cengage 2008
Edition Learning
Faughn

Dept. of Physics,
NUOL,
Sub Physics 1(221PH111) Faculty of 2016
Laos
Natural Science

45