STE 2105 General Physics 1 Instructional Materials

Lesson 4: Motion in Three Dimensions

Introduction
We live and move in a three-dimensional universe. Therefore, it is important that we can study
motion along the three dimensions. We will expand our understanding of motion from the previous
chapter. We will also look into the physical quantities on a more general manner since the motion
quantities that we have learned from the previous chapter are also valid in any of the three axes
of the Cartesian coordinate system.

Learning Outcomes
After successful completion of this lesson, you should be able to:

• Relate the general mathematical form of the physical quantities to its 1D form
• Apply the 3D kinematic equations to analyze projectile motion.

Discussion

The 3D Cartesian Plane

We have so far analyzed motion using a single horizontal number line as a reference frame. This
is a good simplification when we are only discussing motion in a straight line. However, since we
will now be dealing with motion in 3 dimensions, we need to adjust the reference frame to
accommodate the additional 2 dimensions. In order to quantify 3-dimensional motion, we will need
a 3-dimensional cartesian plane.

Figure 4.1. 3D Cartesian Plane

Position
In the previous chapter, we have denoted position as 𝑥 as a function of time. This representation
is suited only for motion in one dimension, the x-axis. To accommodate the y- and z- components
of the position, we will express position in a more general manner. Since position is a vector
quantity, we can express position by its x-, y-, and z- components.

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𝑟⃑(𝑡) = 𝑥 (𝑡)𝑖̂ + 𝑦(𝑡)𝑗̂ + 𝑧(𝑡)𝑘̂ (4.1)

As an example, consider a moving object where the motion at any point is time, satisfies the
motion equation
𝑚 𝑚
𝑟⃑(𝑡) = 3 𝑡𝑖̂ + 5 2 𝑡 2 𝑗̂ + 10 𝑚𝑘̂ (4.2)
𝑠 𝑠

The position of that object at a specific point in time can then be determined. It’s position at 𝑡 =
1.0 𝑠 will then be
𝑚 𝑚
𝑟⃑(𝑡 = 1.0 𝑠) = 3 (1.0 𝑠)𝑖̂ + 5 2 (1.0 𝑠)2 𝑗̂ + 10 𝑚𝑘̂
𝑠 𝑠

𝑟⃑(𝑡 = 1.0 𝑠) = 3 𝑚𝑖̂ + 5 𝑚𝑗̂ + 10 𝑚𝑘̂ (4.3)

Displacement
Because we have expressed position in a more general form, the displacement will also be
expressed in a general form. Since displacement is the difference between the initial and final
positions of an object, then the general mathematical form of displacement will be

∆𝑟⃑ = 𝑟⃑𝑓 − 𝑟⃑𝑖 = 𝑟⃑(𝑡𝑓 ) − 𝑟⃑(𝑡𝑖 )

∆𝑟⃑ = (𝑥𝑓 𝑖̂ + 𝑦𝑓 𝑗̂ + 𝑧𝑓 𝑘̂) − (𝑥𝑖 𝑖̂ + 𝑦𝑖 𝑗̂ + 𝑧𝑖 𝑘̂)

∆𝑟⃑ = (𝑥𝑓 − 𝑥𝑖 )𝑖̂ + (𝑦𝑓 − 𝑦𝑖 )𝑗̂ + (𝑧𝑓 − 𝑧𝑖 )𝑘̂ (4.4)

As an example, consider equation (4.2) and suppose we were to calculate the displacement of
the object from time 𝑡𝑓 = 4.0 𝑠 and 𝑡𝑖 = 2.0 𝑠. The displacement is calculated as follows

∆𝑟⃑ = 𝑟⃑𝑓 − 𝑟⃑𝑖 = 𝑟⃑(𝑡𝑓 ) − 𝑟⃑(𝑡𝑖 )

𝑚 𝑚 2 𝑚 𝑚
∆𝑟⃑ = (3 (𝑡𝑓 )𝑖̂ + 5 (𝑡𝑓 ) 𝑗̂ + 10 𝑚𝑘̂ ) − (3 (𝑡𝑖 )𝑖̂ + 5 (𝑡𝑖 )2 𝑗̂ + 10 𝑚𝑘̂)
𝑠 𝑠 𝑠 𝑠
𝑚 𝑚 𝑚 𝑚
∆𝑟⃑ = (3 (4.0 𝑠)𝑖̂ + 5 (4.0 𝑠)2 𝑗̂ + 10 𝑚𝑘̂ ) − (3 (2.0 𝑠)𝑖̂ + 5 (2.0 𝑠)2 𝑗̂ + 10 𝑚𝑘̂)
𝑠 𝑠 𝑠 𝑠

∆𝑟⃑ = (12 𝑚𝑖̂ + 80 𝑚𝑗̂ + 10 𝑚𝑘̂ ) − (6 𝑚𝑖̂ + 20 𝑚𝑗̂ + 10 𝑚𝑘̂)

∆𝑟⃑ = 6 𝑚𝑖̂ + 60 𝑚𝑗̂ = 6(1 𝑚𝑖̂ + 10 𝑚𝑗̂) (4.5)

Velocity, Average Velocity, and Speed

The general formulas that we can use to define velocity when we consider the motion along a
three-dimensional space are of the forms

𝑑𝑥 𝑑𝑦 𝑑𝑧 𝑑𝑟⃑
𝑣⃑ = 𝑣⃑𝑥 + 𝑣⃑𝑦 + 𝑣⃑𝑧 = 𝑣𝑥 𝑖̂ + 𝑣𝑦 𝑗̂ + 𝑣𝑧 𝑘̂ = 𝑖̂ + 𝑗̂ + 𝑘̂ = (4.6)
𝑑𝑡 𝑑𝑡 𝑑𝑡 𝑑𝑡

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As an example, if we were to compute for the velocity of the object in equation (4.2) at time 𝑡 =
2.0 𝑠, then the result would be (notice how we differentiated the position vector to compute for the
general formula of the velocity of the object)

𝑑𝑟⃑ 𝑑 𝑚 𝑚 𝑚 𝑚
𝑣⃑ = = (3 𝑡𝑖̂ + 5 2 𝑡 2 𝑗̂ + 10 𝑚𝑘̂) = 3 𝑖̂ + 10 2 𝑡𝑗̂
𝑑𝑡 𝑑𝑡 𝑠 𝑠 𝑠 𝑠
𝑚 𝑚 𝑚 𝑚
𝑣⃑(𝑡 = 2.0 𝑠) = 3 𝑖̂ + 10 2 (2.0 𝑠)𝑗̂ = 3 𝑖̂ + 20 𝑗̂ (4.7)
𝑠 𝑠 𝑠 𝑠

We also define the formulas for the average velocity in a similar manner

∆𝑥 ∆𝑦 ∆𝑧 ∆𝑟⃑
𝑣⃑𝑎𝑣𝑒 = 𝑣⃑𝑥,𝑎𝑣𝑒 + 𝑣⃑𝑦,𝑎𝑣𝑒 + 𝑣⃑𝑧,𝑎𝑣𝑒 = 𝑣𝑥,𝑎𝑣𝑒 𝑖̂ + 𝑣𝑦,𝑎𝑣𝑒 𝑗̂ + 𝑣𝑧,𝑎𝑣𝑒 𝑘̂ = 𝑖̂ + 𝑗̂ + 𝑘̂ = (4.8)
∆𝑡 ∆𝑡 ∆𝑡 ∆𝑡

As an example, let us compute for the average velocity of the same object from time 𝑡𝑓 = 4.0 𝑠
and 𝑡𝑖 = 2.0 𝑠. From equation (4.5), we know that ∆𝑟⃑ = 6 𝑚𝑖̂ + 60 𝑚𝑗̂. We can now solve for the
average velocity.

∆𝑟⃑ 6 𝑚𝑖̂ + 60 𝑚𝑗̂ 6 𝑚 60 𝑚 𝑚 𝑚

𝑣⃑𝑎𝑣𝑒 = = = 𝑖̂ + 𝑗̂ = 3 𝑖̂ + 30 𝑗̂ (4.9)
∆𝑡 4.0 𝑠 − 2.0 𝑠 2𝑠 2𝑠 𝑠 𝑠

We have defined speed as the magnitude of velocity. As an example, we can calculate the speed
of the object in our previous examples at time 𝑡 = 2.0 𝑠 by computing for the magnitude of the
velocity as follows

𝑚 2 𝑚 2 𝑚2 𝑚2 𝑚 𝑚
𝑣 = |𝑣⃑| = √(3 ) + (20 ) = √9 2 + 400 2 = 20.22 = 20 (4.10)
𝑠 𝑠 𝑠 𝑠 𝑠 𝑠

Acceleration and Average Acceleration

Average is the time rate of change of velocity. To define acceleration mathematically, we can use
the following formulas

𝑑𝑣𝑥 𝑑𝑣𝑦 𝑑𝑣𝑧 𝑑𝑣⃑ 𝑑 2 𝑟⃑

𝑎⃑ = 𝑎⃑𝑥 + 𝑎⃑𝑦 + 𝑎⃑𝑧 = 𝑎𝑥 𝑖̂ + 𝑎𝑦 𝑗̂ + 𝑎𝑧 𝑘̂ = 𝑖̂ + 𝑗̂ + 𝑘̂ = = (4.11)
𝑑𝑡 𝑑𝑡 𝑑𝑡 𝑑𝑡 𝑑𝑡 2

As an example, we can calculate the acceleration of the object being described in the previous
examples by differentiating its general formula for velocity, which is the equation before equation
(4.7). The acceleration is then

𝑑𝑣⃑ 𝑑 𝑚 𝑚 𝑚
𝑎⃑ = = (3 𝑖̂ + 10 2 𝑡𝑗̂) = 10 2 𝑗̂ (4.12)
𝑑𝑡 𝑑𝑡 𝑠 𝑠 𝑠

As we can see from equation (4.12), the acceleration of our sample object is constant at 10 𝑚/𝑠 2 𝑗̂.
𝑚
This means that our object is constantly accelerating with a magnitude of 10 2 at the direction of
𝑠
the positive y-axis.

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Since the acceleration is constant, it follows that the average acceleration of the object must be
equal to its acceleration. To verify this, we can calculate the average acceleration and check for
the consistency of the result. The general formula for the average acceleration in 3 dimensions is

𝑎⃑𝑎𝑣𝑒 = 𝑎⃑𝑥,𝑎𝑣𝑒 + 𝑎⃑𝑦,𝑎𝑣𝑒 + 𝑎⃑𝑧,𝑎𝑣𝑒

∆𝑣𝑥 ∆𝑣𝑦 ∆𝑣𝑧 𝑣𝑥,𝑓 − 𝑣𝑥,𝑖 𝑣𝑦,𝑓 − 𝑣𝑦,𝑖 𝑣𝑧,𝑓 − 𝑣𝑧,𝑖

𝑎⃑𝑎𝑣𝑒 = 𝑖̂ + 𝑗̂ + 𝑘̂ = 𝑖̂ + 𝑗̂ + 𝑘̂ (4.13)
∆𝑡 ∆𝑡 ∆𝑡 𝑡𝑓 − 𝑡𝑖 𝑡𝑓 − 𝑡𝑖 𝑡𝑓 − 𝑡𝑖

Let us now verify if our example has a constant acceleration by computing for the average
acceleration between time 𝑡 = 0.0 𝑠 and 𝑡 = 2.0 𝑠. From our velocity equations for our sample
object, the average acceleration is
𝑚 𝑚 𝑚 𝑚
(3 −3 ) (20 − 0 )
𝑎⃑𝑎𝑣𝑒 = 𝑠 𝑠 𝑖̂ + 𝑠 𝑠 𝑗̂
2.0 𝑠 − 0.0 𝑠 2.0 𝑠 − 0.0 𝑠
𝑚
20
𝑎⃑𝑎𝑣𝑒 = 𝑠 𝑗̂ = 10 𝑚 𝑗̂ (4.14)
2𝑠 𝑠2

Equation (4.14) proved that since the acceleration of our sample object is constant, then the
average acceleration of our sample object must be of the same value and direction.

Projectile Motion
Projectile motion is motion in 2 dimensions where in the only force acting on the object is gravity.
It is similar to free fall motion in a sense and only differs in the number of dimensions.

Figure 4.2. Projectile Motion

The trajectory, or motion, of an object under projectile motion can be analyzed by looking into its
x- and y- components. For the horizontal (x-) component, there is no acceleration and therefore
the equations for uniform velocity is valid for horizontal motion of the object. On the other hand,
𝑚
gravity accelerates the object downward at a constant rate of 9.8 2 . Thus, for the vertical (y-)
𝑠
component, the equations for uniform acceleration is valid for the vertical motion of the object.

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As an example, consider a cannonball being shot upward at an angle of 60 degrees from the
horizontal with an initial velocity of 25 𝑚/𝑠. At what time will the cannonball reach its maximum
height? How far will the cannonball travel (horizontally) when it reaches the highest point of its
trajectory?

Figure 4.3. Analysis of Projectile Motion

First, we have to break down the initial velocity vector into its x- and y- components. We can do
this using the principles of trigonometry.
𝑚 𝑚
𝑣⃑𝑥,𝑖 = 𝑣𝑖 cos 𝜃 𝑖̂ = (25 ) cos 60° 𝑖̂ = 12.5
𝑠 𝑠
𝑚 𝑚
𝑣⃑𝑦,𝑖 = 𝑣𝑖 sin 𝜃 𝑗̂ = (25 ) sin 60° 𝑗̂ = 21.65
𝑠 𝑠

Now, the horizontal component of the object’s velocity will be preserved throughout the trajectory
because there is no horizontal force acting on the cannonball. However, the vertical velocity of
the cannonball will change according to the uniform acceleration equations. The time at which the
cannonball will reach its maximum height is then

𝑣𝑦,𝑓 = 𝑣𝑦,𝑖 + 𝑎𝑡 → 𝑣𝑦,𝑓 = 𝑣𝑦,𝑖 − 𝑔𝑡

𝑚 𝑚
𝑣𝑦,𝑓 − 𝑣𝑦,𝑖 0 − 21.65
𝑡=− =− 𝑠 𝑠 = 2.206931702 𝑠 = 2.2 𝑠
𝑔 𝑚
9.81 2
𝑠

Now, we can then calculate how far the ball has travelled horizontally using the equation for
uniform velocity. Since horizontal velocity is constant, then 𝑣⃑𝑥,𝑖 = 𝑣⃑𝑥 .

𝑥𝑓 = 𝑥𝑖 + 𝑣𝑥 𝑡

𝑚
∆𝑥 = 𝑣𝑥 𝑡 = (12.5 ) (2.2 𝑠) = 27.5 𝑚
𝑠

The cannonball has travelled 27.5 m horizontally when it has reached its maximum height.

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Lesson 4: Motion in Three Dimensions

Assessment

Instructions: Answer the following problems on a separate sheet of paper. Show your complete
solutions and box your final answer. 5 points per correct answer.

1. The position vector of a butterfly that is flying parallel to the ground is given as a function
of time by
𝑚 2 𝑚
𝑟⃑ = [2.90 𝑚 + (0.0900 2
) 𝑡 ] 𝑖̂ − (0.0150 3 ) 𝑡 3 𝑗̂
𝑠 𝑠

a. At what value of 𝑡 does the velocity vector of the insect make an angle 30.0°
clockwise from the +x-axis?

b. At the time calculated in (a), what are the magnitude and direction of the
acceleration vector of the insect?

𝑚
2. A ball is thrown at an angle of 45.0° from the horizontal with an initial velocity of 5.0 .
𝑠

a. At what time will the ball reach its maximum height?

b. What will be the maximum height of the ball’s trajectory?

c. How far will the ball travel horizontally when it reaches the maximum height of its
flight?

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