2-D Kinematics: Motion in Two Directions General Physics

What is the significance of a negative quantity?

A snail at position 3 cm moves to position 20 cm in 8 seconds.

What is it's displacement? Use ∆d = df - di

What is it's velocity? Use v = ∆d/t

A ladybug at position 24 cm moves to position 5 cm in 1.5 seconds.

What is it's displacement? Use ∆d = df - di

What is it's velocity? Use v = ∆d/t

How does the lady bug move with respect to the snail?

What does negative displacement mean?

What does negative velocity mean?

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Can acceleration be negative? What does it mean?
Vector and Scalar Quantities

So far, we have been able to say that distance is the same as displacement and speed is the
same as velocity. In some cases they do have the same value, but they are not really the same.
Distance and speed are SCALAR quantities, so when you add them together, you simply do addition.
Displacement and velocity are VECTOR quantities, so the relative direction determines how the
numbers combine to make the resultant.

Scalar: Scalar quantities have magnitude only. The numbers add up.
 Scalar quantities include mass, length, distance, and speed.

Vectors: Vector quantities have both magnitude and direction. The relative direction of the vectors
determines how the numbers “add” up.
 Vector quantities include displacement, velocity, acceleration, and force.
 Vector quantities are represented with arrows, indicating the relative size and direction.
 The Resultant is the sum of added vectors. To determine the resultant, draw component
vector arrows tip to tail. The resultant is represented by an arrow, and it connects the
initial point (tail of first vector arrow) to the final point (tip of last vector arrow).

Vectors explain why…

(flight time, moving sidewalks, buggy on paper, boat in a current, landing a plane in a crosswind)

How can the direction of a vector quantity be indicated?

How can velocity and acceleration arrows show if an object is moving at constant speed,
speeding up or slowing down?

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Check your understanding: What is the difference between distance and displacement?

Distance is a scalar quantity that measures how far an object went. Displacement is a vector quantity
that is the change in position of an object.

Problem: Kimberly walks 4 meters north, 13 meters east and 4 meters south.
What distance did she travel? What is her displacement?

Vector Addition: Vector quantities have both magnitude and direction. The direction dictates how
two vector quantities add together. There are many different ways vectors can "add" together.
Vectors are “added” together depending on their relative direction.

 Vector quantities are represented with scaled arrows, indicating the relative size and
direction. Draw vector arrows tip to tail.

 The Resultant is the sum of added vectors. It is represented by an arrow, and it connects
the initial point (tail of first vector arrow) to the final point (tip of last vector arrow).
(Parallelogram Method)

1. When the vectors point in the same direction, simply add the quantities.
Malcolm walks 10 m and then walks 7 m more in the same direction.

2. When the vectors point in opposite directions, make one of the vectors negative, then "add" the
quantities. (You'll really subtract the numbers.)
Malcolm walks 10 m, turns around and then walks 7 m in the opposite direction.

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3. When the vectors are at an angle to each other, first draw the vectors, tip to tail (Parallelogram
method). Then use "triangle addition" to find the resultant. (Pythagorean theorem)
Malcolm walks 10 m east and then walks 7 m south.

4. When the vectors are at a different angle to each other, draw the vectors as a parallelogram and
draw the resultant as the diagonal line. Measure the length of the diagonal line and use the scale to
determine the resultant.

Malcolm walks 10 m east and then walks 7 m south of east.

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Vector Addition Problems:

1. Emily walks 15 m, then walks another 15 m. What distance does she cover? What is her displacement?

2. Sindy walks 60 m east and then turns north east and walks 40 m farther. Her displacement is closest to….

a. 20 m
b. 80 m
c. 100 m
d. 110 m

3. What to add first??

Elliott walks in the directions indicated below, in the stated order. Each color represents a different pathway he
follows. On a sheet of graph paper, draw a vector diagram of his motion and determine his displacement. For
each set of pathways, start at the same position.

Green Red Blue

5m south 1m south 8m west
2m east 6m north 2m east
6m north 5m south 5m south
8m west 8m west 6m north
1m south 2m east 1m south

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4. Mario decides to swim across a river that has a current of 1.5 m/s, south. Mario swims across the
river at a velocity of 1.3 m/s, east.

What is his resultant velocity?

Which direction does he swim?

Where does he end up?

How should he swim if he wants to end up directly across the river from where he started?

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2-D Kinematics: Motion in Two Directions General Physics

What have we learned about free falling objects and objects thrown up into the air?

Class Activity: How high does a Stomp Rocket go?

1. How long is the rocket in the air?

2 a. How long does it take for the rocket to reach maximum height?

b. How long does it take for the rocket to fall back down?

c. Make a statement about the time it takes for the ball to reach maximum height compared to the
time it takes to fall back down. (Compare time up and time down).

3. How high does the rocket go?

4. How fast was it moving when it was launched?

5. Which factors affect how long the ball is in the air?

6. Did the rocket land on top of the launcher? Why?

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Projectile Motion General Physics

A projectile is any object that moves through the air and the only factor that affects its motion is gravity.
Projectiles:
 Have two components of motion: they move both vertically and horizontally at the same time.
 move vertically due to gravity: Just like an object that is dropped or an object that is thrown straight up
into the air and comes down again:
a = 9.8 m/s2 downward
vertical velocity at the top (at maximum height) is 0 m/s
the object slows down as it moves upward; speeds up as it moves downward
 move horizontally at constant velocity (vix = vx = vfx)
 The vertical motion is independent of the horizontal motion.
 move in a parabolic pathway (because the velocity and acceleration are vector quantities)

Class Activity:
Why do projectiles follow a parabolic pathway?
Instructions:

1. Across the top of your page, make a particle diagram for an object that is moving horizontally at constant
speed. (2 boxes between each dot).

2. Under the first dot, draw a vertical particle diagram for an object that is speeding up. Skip one line, then
skip 2 lines then skip 3 lines, then skip 4 lines... until you go off the paper.

3. For each set of corresponding horizontal and vertical dots, draw an object where the dots intersect.

4. Connect the dots with a dotted line. The dotted line represents the trajectory or pathway of a projectile.

Question: Why do projectiles follow a parabolic pathway?

Does the horizontal velocity of a projectile affect how long it is in the air?

Two marbles are launched at the same time, from the same height. One falls straight down, the other
is launched horizontally and follows a parabolic pathway. Will one of the marbles hit the ground first,
or do they hit at the same time?

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 Solving 2-D Kinematics (Projectile) Problems

Recognize there are two components of the motion. The two components of motion act independently
of each other.

 Horizontal motion (motion in the x direction). Object moves at constant velocity in the x direction
(ax = 0 m/s2). Variables: vx, dx, tx. (vx = vix = vfx) Analyze this motion like an object moving in a straight
line at constant velocity.

 Vertical motion (motion in the y direction) Object accelerates due to gravity. (ay = 9.8 m/s2 downward).
Variables: viy, vfy, dy, ty, ay. Analyze this motion like a one dimensional problem of an object in free fall or
thrown up in to the air and falling back down.

 Make two separate tables of variables, one for the horizontal motion and one for the vertical motion.
Solve for values independently.

 The horizontal and vertical motions are connected through time. (draw diagrams below)

Example Problem:
1. Mrs. O’Brien shoots a marble horizontally from a marble launcher at the top of the door frame. The marble
launcher is m above the floor. The marble hits the floor m away.

 Draw a diagram of the situation, and label dy, dx, vx, viy.
 Make two tables of variables (vertical and horizontal motion).
 How long does it take for the marble to fall to the floor (solve for ty)
 How fast was the marble launched (vx)?

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Projectile Motion Continued

Projectiles can be launched horizontally from a height or launched at an angle.

Projectiles launched horizontally: Projectiles launched at an angle:

When a projectile is launched into the air, it moves like this......

The reason is that it is moving up/down and forward at the same time. So it has velocity in both the
horizontal (x) & vertical (y) directions (vx & vy).

The projectile will slow down as it moves up to maximum height, and speed up as it comes back
down to the ground. It accelerates due to gravity in the y direction due to gravity and moves at
constant velocity in the x direction. (Since gravity acts downward, and initial vertical velocity is
upward, make gravity negative (-9.8 m/s2).

Class Activity: How does the launch angle affect the height and range of a projectile?

We will launch a projectile at various angles and observe how long it is in the air (time), how high it
goes (height = dy) and how far it goes (range = dx).

Launch angle time in air height (m) range (m)

30o

40o

45o

50o

60o

90o

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