Online Study Experience - Engineering Dynamics

This module consists of three parts. Each part focuses on a concept that will be taught in the first
year course Engineering Dynamics in the Mechanical Engineering bachelor. The three concepts
that will be covered are:

1. Kinematics in polar coordinates

2. Conservation of momentum
3. Systems of particles

A basic understanding on vector addition, the multiplication of scalars and vectors and the differ-
entiation of vectors may be required. Those that wish to revise these concepts can take a look at
part A, where a summary is given.

Contents
1 Kinematics (in polar coordinates) 2
Lecture notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Position and speed in Cartesian coordinates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Position and speed in Polar coordinates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Acceleration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Assignment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

2 Conservation of momentum 8
Lecture notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Newton’s second law . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Conservation of momentum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Assignment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

3 Systems of particles 12
Lecture notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Center of mass and extension of particle laws . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Rotation and angular momentum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Angular momentum in systems of particles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Assignment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

A Vectors and differentiation 18

Vectors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Vector differentiation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

1
1 Kinematics (in polar coordinates)
Kinematics is the study of motion, describing the position, velocity and acceleration. Forces and
how bodies react to them are outside the scope of kinematics. Vectors are the mathematical tools
that are often used to describe and analyze motion. A quick recap / introduction to vectors and
differentiation might be found in Appendix A. In this section, we will introduce two-dimensional
euclidian and polar coordinates and use it to analyze motion. The notion of vectors will also be
used in later sections.

Figure 1: Tennis ball Figure 2: Trajectory of a rocket

Lecture notes
Suppose P is a small moving object. It is so small that we assume its size can be ignored, a
so-called point mass or particle. Figures 3 and 4 show how the position of the point P may be
denoted using cartesian coordinates a, b or polar coordinates r, θ.

y y
a P P

r
b
θ
x x
O O

Figure 3: Cartesian coordinates Figure 4: Polar coordinates

The position of the point P relative to the origin, O, may be written as a vector, denoted ~r, as
shown in Figure 5.
y
P

~r

x
O

Figure 5: Position vector

2
Position and speed in Cartesian coordinates

An orthonormal vector basis for the plane consists of two orthogonal, which means mutually
perpendicular, vectors, ~e1 and ~e2 , that both have a length of one. These vectors are the so-called
unit vectors. One such vector base is the rectangular or Cartesian vector base. We can then split
the vector into an x- and y-component, as shown in Figure 7, giving ~r = ~rx + ~ry = rx~ex + ry ~ey .

y y
P rx P

~r ~r ry
~ry
~ey
x x
O ~ex O ~rx

Figure 6: Cartesian basis Figure 7: Position in Cartesian coordinates

The length of the position vector, r = |~r|, can be calculated using Pythagoras’ theorem:
q q
r = |~r| = |~rx |2 + |~ry |2 = rx2 + ry2 ,

which gives a notion of distance.

Figure 8 shows how the velocity vector ~v can similarly be decomposed into its x and y component
as ~v = vx~ex + vy ~ey .

y y
P ~vx P

~r ~v ~r
~vy
~ey ~v
x x
O ~ex O

Figure 8: Velocity in Cartesian components Figure 9: Velocity vector for a circular movement

The length of the velocity vector is equal to the speed of the object, v:
q q
v = |~v | = |~vx |2 + |~vy |2 = vx2 + vy2 .

Important! Note the difference between the scalar quantities: distance, r, and speed, v, and
their vector versions: position, ~r, and velocity, ~v . Although velocity is the derivative of position
(~v = ~r˙ ), speed is not the time derivative of distance (v 6= ṙ)! Consider for example the circular
movement shown in Figure 9, in which the distance between O and P remains constant. In this
case, ṙ = 0, but v 6= 0. However, the x- and y-components of the velocity vector are equal to the
time derivative of the x- and y-components of the position vector:
d
vx = rx = ṙx
dt
d
vy = ry = ṙy
dt

Food for thought: Why does ~v = ~r˙ imply vx = ṙx here? What is the requirement on the vector base
/ unit vectors for this to hold? Hint: take a look at the chain rule for differentiation of a vector
in Part A.

3
Position and speed in Polar coordinates

Consider again the situation of Figure 9. As the direction of ~v constantly changes, the x and y
components of the speed vector are constantly changing. In this and other situations, using a
polar coordinate system greatly simplifies calculations. As we have done for cartesian coordinates,
we will show how the position and speed vector can be written in polar coordinates.
A vector base for polar coordinates is shown in Figure 10.

θ
y y ~vr r
~eθ ~er
P
P
~r ~r ~v
θ ~vθ
x x
O O

Figure 10: Polar basis Figure 11: Velocity in polar components

Notice that in contrast with the cartesian unit vectors, always pointing in the same x and y
directions, the direction of the polar base vectors changes with position (more specifically the
angle θ). The position vector ~r has a much simpler expression:

~r = r~er . (1)

We traded a simpler expression for a more complex coordinate system, which, depending on the
situation we consider might simplify or complicate matters. Nonetheless, both coordinate systems
are perfectly valid and can be used instead of the other at all times. The velocity vector can be
decomposed into its components:

~v = ~vr + ~vθ = vr ~er + vθ ~eθ . (2)

For the components of the speed vector we need to take the movement of the vector base into
account and can derive using ~v = ~r˙ :

vr = ṙ, (3)
vθ = rθ̇. (4)

Again, the speed can be calculated as

p q
v = |~v | = |~vr |2 + |~vθ |2 = vr2 + vθ2 . (5)

Food for thought: How can one derive Equations 3 and 4 above? Hint: take a look at the chain
rule for differentiation of a vector in Part A.

Acceleration

The derivative of the velocity vector is the acceleration vector, ~a, and its magnitude is equal to
the acceleration, a.
Important! Again, the scalar quantity acceleration is not necessarily equal to the derivative of
speed (a 6= v̇), however, (~a = ~v˙ ). For example, if the speed in the situation of Figure 12 is constant
and thus v̇ = 0, the acceleration vector is pointing towards the origin as shown and a 6= 0.

4
 ~a
y y r
θ ~ar
~aθ
P
~a P
~r ~v
~v
x x
O O

Figure 12: Acceleration vector in a circular Figure 13: General acceleration vector in polar
trajectory with constant speed. components

In general, ~a can point in any direction as shown in Figure 13 and again be decomposed into either
x- and y-components or r- and θ-components. For the first, we simply have:
~a =~ax + ~ay = ax~ex + ay ~ey
ax =v̇x
ay =v̇y

For the polar coordinates, we can derive the following relations:

~a =~ar + ~aθ = ar ~er + aθ ~eθ , (6)
2
ar =r̈ − rθ̇ , (7)
aθ =rθ̈ + 2ṙθ̇, (8)
d d
where r̈ indicates the second time-derivative of r, i.e. r̈ = dt ( dt r). Again, the acceleration can be
calculated as p q
a = |~a| = |~ar |2 + |~aθ |2 = a2r + a2θ . (9)

Note how aθ becomes zero for a circular movement with constant speed as both ṙ and θ̈ are zero
and thus the well-known equation a = rθ̇2 for the centripetal acceleration is recovered.
Example The hydraulic cylinder in Figure 14 can rotate around O. The extension length,
l, in meters and the rotation, θ, in radians are controlled independently and given by: l(t) =
0.02t2 and θ(t) = 0.2t + 0.02t3 , where t is in seconds. What are the magnitudes of the
velocity vector, ~v , and the acceleration vector, ~a, of point B at t = 3 s? Draw the velocity and
acceleration vectors.

mm
375

θ
O

Figure 14: Example hydraulic cylinder

5
First calculate r, ṙ, r̈, θ, θ̇ and θ̈ at t = 3 s:

r = 0.375 + 0.02t2 = 0.555 m

ṙ = 0.04t = 0.12 m/s
r̈ = 0.04 = 0.04 m/s2
θ = 0.2t + 0.02t3 = 1.14 rad = 65.3◦
θ̇ = 0.2 + 0.06t2 = 0.74 rad/s
θ̈ = 0.12t = 0.36 rad/s2

Then, we can use equations 3-8 to calculate vr , vθ , v, ar , aθ and a:

vr = ṙ = 0.12 m/s
vθ = rθ̇ = 0.411 m/s
q
v = vr2 + vθ2 = 0.428 m/s
ar = r̈ − rθ̇2 , = −0.264 m/s2
aθ = rθ̈ + 2ṙθ̇ = 0.377 m/s2
q
a = a2r + a2θ = 0.461 m/s2

Using this data, we can draw both the velocity and the acceleration vectors:

~v

~aθ
~vθ ~vr
B B
~a
~ar
r r

θ θ
x x
O O

Figure 15: Velocity in polar components Figure 16: Acceleration in polar components

6
Assignment
A rocket has been launched and is tracked by radar from point A. After some time, the rocket is in
the position as shown in Figure 17. The radar records the following measurements: r = 2200 m,
ṙ = 500 m/s, r̈ = 4.66 m/s2 , θ = 0.384 rad, θ̇ = 0.0788 rad/s and θ̈ = −0.0341 rad/s2 . Provide all
answers with three significant figures. Hints: recognize that point A can be seen as the origin of a
polar coordinate system and make drawings. Determine:

1. the speed of the rocket, v,

2. the angle β between the direction of the rocket, i.e. ~v , and the horizontal,
3. the acceleration of the rocket, a,
4. the angle between the acceleration vector of the rocket, ~a, and the horizontal.

Figure 17: Assignment 1: Rocket in flight

7
2 Conservation of momentum
Kinetics is the study of how forces interact with bodies. In classical mechanics, Newton’s laws are
used to describe and analyze the resulting motion. In this lecture, we will focus on a result from
Newton’s second law: the conservation of linear momentum.

Figure 18: Breaking billiard balls

Lecture notes
Newton’s second law

The linear momentum of a body, p~, is defined as the product of its mass and velocity:

p~ = m~v .

Newton’s second law states that The rate of change of momentum of a body is proportional to the
force applied and this change in momentum occurs in the direction of this force. As an equation
this is written as:
F~ = p~˙. (10)
This law is only valid for constant-mass systems and thus the more familiar form with acceleration
can be derived:
F~ = p~˙ = m~v˙ = m~a.
We will focus on the quantity p~ for the remainder of this part. Let us integrate Equation 10 above
over a time interval t1 to t2 , which will get us the change in momentum ∆~ p = p~t=t2 − p~t=t1 :
Z t2
∆~
p= F~ dt. (11)
t1

8
 Example: Suppose a particle has an initial momentum, p~0 , as shown in Figure 19 at t = 0.
The integral of the combined forces, F~ , on this particle between t1 = 0 and t2 = τ is shown as
a vector and the final momentum is the sum of these two vectors. This does not give us any
information about the velocity during this interval, but allows us to immediately calculate
the final velocity. Note that the precise form of the force F does not matter, as long as the
integral from 0 to τ is known. This means the change in velocity might be caused by a large
force in a small interval, such as a golf ball being hit with a club, or by a small force over a
larger interval, such as a light breeze of air pushing the ball sideways in flight.
Rτ p~τ = m~vτ
∆~p = 0 F~ dt
p~0 = m~v0 + =

Figure 19: Graphical depiction of how the difference in p~ in a certain time interval from 0 to
τ is equal to the integral of the force over this interval.

Conservation of momentum

The law above becomes particularly useful if we consider two or more particles that interact. As
Newton’s third law states, for every force F~1 applied to one particle by another, a balancing force
F~2 = −F~1 in the opposite direction is applied by the one to the other. From equation 10 above we
see that the change in momentum of one particle is exactly opposite to the change in momentum
of the other. Let’s denote the momentum of particle 1, p~1 , and the momentum of particle 2, p~2 .
Then: Z τ Z τ
∆~p1 = F~1 dt = − F~2 dt = −∆~
p2
0 0
and thus, if we calculate the total momentum of a set of n particles without external forces
n
X
pi = ~0.
∆~ (12)
i=1

This means that momentum is conserved in any system without external forces. It doesn’t matter
at which point in time we calculate the total momentum, we will always get the same value!
Remember that mechanical energy as the sum of kinetic and potential energy is not conserved in
situations with non-conservative forces, e.g. no friction and inelastic collisions. The conservation
of momentum is still valid in those situations, as long as these forces are internal.

9
Example Suppose two particles, P1 and P2 , with speeds v1 =3 m/s and v2 = 2m/s, respec-
tively, move in opposite directions, collide and fuse together into one particle P3 . What is the
final speed v3 , given that there are no external forces acting on the system and that the mass,
m1 of particle P1 is four times the mass, m2 , of particle P2 ?

~v1 ~v2 ~v3

P1 P2 P3

Figure 20: Two particles before collision Figure 21: One particle after collision
First, let’s calculate the total momentum before collision. The momentum of particle P1 in
the x-direction is given as
p~1 = m1~v1 = 3m1~ex ,
with ~ex , the unit vector in x-direction. The momentum of particle P2 in the x-direction is
given as
p~2 = m2~v2 = −2m2~ex .
The total momentum p~1+2 can thus be given as:

p~1+2 = p~1 + p~2

= 3m1~ex + −2m2~ex
= (3m1 − 2m2 )~ex
= 10m2~ex

The momentum after collision is given as:

p~3 = m3~v3
= 5m2 v3~ex

As there are no external forces, momentum is conserved and thus, the total momentum before
collision has to equal the momentum after collision:

p~1+2 = p~3

giving v3 = 2 m/s.

10
Assignment
A barge, with a mass of 50 metric tonnes (50 Mg) lies in the water, a small distance from the pier
and is initially stationary. A car with a mass of 1500 kg jumps from the pier to the barge, using a
ramp with an angle of 15.0◦ . To jump the gap, the car accelerates from standstill in A to a speed
of 50.0 km/h when it leaves the ramp and then brakes to a stop on the barge in B. Assume that
the barge remains horizontal, does not move vertically and that the water resistance is negligible.
Furthermore, all vertical movement is dissipated in the car suspension on landing. Provide all
answers with three significant figures. Determine:

1. the momentum px in x-direction of the car during flight,

2. the speed, v2 , of barge and car after the car has stopped,

3. the time it takes for the car to stop when the brake force, Fb is a constant 10 kN,
4. the minimum length of the barge such that the car can safely stop in this time, assuming the
wheelbase of the car is 2 m.

A B
1 15◦ 2

Figure 22: Assignment 2: Car jump from pier to barge

11
3 Systems of particles
The second lecture introduced us to kinetics of point masses or particles. This lecture will introduce
systems of connected particles and the notion of angular momentum.

Figure 23: Car drifting around a corner

Lecture notes
Until now, we have considered particles or point masses as shown in Figure 24 and ignored the
rotation of these particles. Oftentimes, the rotation of a body cannot be ignored though and we
need to consider rigid bodies as shown in Figure 25. Analyzing these is beyond the scope of this
lecture, but, as an intermediate step, we consider a system of connected particles as shown in
Figure 26. In the course, we will extrapolate this to the rigid body by considering it as being
composed of infinitely many infinitesimally small connected particles.

y y y

~r ~rCM ~rCM

x x x
O O O

Figure 24: Particle or point Figure 25: Rigid body Figure 26: System of con-
mass nected particles

Figure 26 already showed the vector ~rCM , the vector that indicates the position of the center of
mass of the system. Let’s officially define this vector as:
n
X mi
~rCM = ~ri ,
i=1
m
Pn
where m is the total mass given by i=1 mi and n is the number of masses. We can analyze this
equation more thoroughly: each particle’s position vector is multiplied with its mass and is later
divided by the total mass. The center of mass is thus the weighted average of all position vectors

12
where a particle with more mass contributes proportionally more than a particle with less mass.
Its use will become clear in a moment.
We will now take a look at what happens to the system as forces act on it. Consider the situation
as in Figure 27, where a force, F~1 , acts on the system. One can imagine that, as the working line of
the force goes through the center of mass, the whole system will accelerate in the direction of the
force, without rotating if it is initially stationary. However, the force F~2 as shown in Figure 28 will
cause a rotation in addition to the acceleration. This is due to the moment given by M2 = F2 d.

y y

d
F~2
~rCM F~1 ~rCM

x x
O O

Figure 27: Force through mass center Figure 28: Force at a distance d from mass center

Center of mass and extension of particle laws

We will first take a look at how the notion of linear momentum extends to a system of connected
particles. For each individual particle, the second law of Newton is still valid and thus we can take
the sum over all particles to get:
Xn n
X
F~i = mi~r¨i .
i=1 i=1

Newton’s third law states that each force from one object to the other causes a force with the
same magnitude in the opposite direction. Thus, in a system of rigidly connected particles, all
forces that act between particles add
Pnup to zero, which means only external forces remain on the
left-hand side. Also recognize that i=1 mi~r¨i = m~r¨CM , which means we can rewrite:
X
F~ = m~r¨CM = p~˙CM , (13)

where p~CM is the total linear momentum:

n
X n
X
p~CM = p~i = mi~vi = m~vCM .
i=1 i=1

In other words, if we neglect the rotation for this moment, we can treat the system as a single
particle located at the center of mass, without worrying about the additional moment. The center
of mass of the system in Figure 28 starts moving in the same direction as the force is pointing.
This might seem counterintuitive as this contradicts what we often see in the real world, where
frictional and gravitational forces are also present.

13
Rotation and angular momentum

As mentioned before, the force, F~2 , shown in Figure 28 not only causes an acceleration in the
direction it is pushing, it is also applying a moment to the body equal to the magnitude of the
force times the shortest distance between the working line and center of mass, d. This moment
is working in the clockwise direction and thus we expect a clockwise rotation in addition to the
linear acceleration. Clearly we need some additional laws and to this end we will introduce the
notion of angular momentum using a single particle.
Consider the situation in Figure 29, where a particle is shown that rotates around the fixed point
O. We could decompose F~ into a radial and tangential component and state that (due to Netwon’s
second law in the tangential direction):

Fφ = |F~ | cos(φ) = mv̇ = ṗ.

This leads to the definition of angular momentum. Let us multiply this equation on both sides
with the distance to the center of rotation, |~r| and recognize that |~r| cos(φ) is equal to d, the
perpendicular distance between O and the working line of the force F :

|~r|ṗ = |~r||F~ | cos(φ) = d|F~ | = MO ,

where MO is the moment of the force F~ with respect to the center of rotation O.

~v
~r φ
F~

θ+
d
x
O

Figure 29: A particle rotating around O with a

force F~ working on it

The quantity |~r|p = |~r|mv = |~r|2 mθ̇ is what we call the angular momentum HO and can be seen
as the moment of the linear momentum around O. It is important to take the sign of M and
θ̇ into account, as a moment can work in either the clockwise or counterclockwise direction. As
drawn above, the moment of F~ is positive and a θ̇ is negative, because we defined all angles to be
positive in the counterclockwise direction, which is indicated by the sign and arc in the lower-right
corner. This is similar to how we define x to be positive to the right and negative to the left.
As with linear momentum, we see that the rate of change in angular momentum is equal to the
total moment applied to the system:
X
MO = |~r|mv̇ = |~r|2 mθ̈ = ḢO (14)

and thus Z t2 X
MO dt = ∆HO (15)
t1

14
Angular momentum in systems of particles

Using a similar reasoning as above, one can prove that if we have a system of n particles that
rotate around a fixed point O, we get:
X n
X
MO = ḢO,i = ḢO (16)
i=1

and Z t2 X n
X
MO dt = ∆HO,i (17)
t1 i=1

Important! These laws are only valid for rotation around a fixed point O! However, a similar
rule for the angular momentum around the (moving) center of mass can be derived. Let us define
the angular momentum HCM as:
n
X n
X n
X
HCM = ḢCM,i = |~
ρi |mi νi = θ̇ ρi |2 mi .
|~
i=1 i=1 i=1

In this equation, ρ~i is the position of mass i relative to the center of mass, and similarly ~ν is the
velocity relative to the center of mass. In other words, simply treat the center of mass as if it were
a fixed point of rotation and calculate the angular momentum around this point. It can be seen
that: X
MCM = ḢCM (18)
and thus: Z t2 X
MCM dt = ∆HCM (19)
t1

Food for thought: How can one derive these laws? Hint: Start from Newton’s second law for each
particle and recognize that the absolute position and velocity of each particle are the sum of the
absolute position and velocity of the center of mass and the relative position and velocity of the
particle.

15
Example See Figure 30, where a frame of negligible mass is rotating around the fixed point
O and has three spheres of 3, 3 and 4 kg attached to it at distances 0.5, 0.6, and 0.4 m,
respectively. Shown is a topdown view, so the spheres are rotating in the horizontal plane
and gravity can be ignored. Both θ and M are defined positive in the clockwise direction as
indicated by the arrows. The system initially rotates in the counterclockwise direction with
20 rad/s and thus θ̇ = −20 rad/s. Suppose a motor that provides a clockwise torque MO of
30 N m, as depicted in the figure, is turned on for five seconds. What is the final angular
velocity θ̇?

Figure 30: Example mill

We can use Z t2 X
∆HO = MO dt
t1

As MO is the only force/torque working, the integral becomes:

Z t2 X
MO dt = MO · t = 150Nms = 150kgm2 /s
t1

We can write the total angular momentum around O as:

n
X n
X n
X
HO = HO,i = |~ri |mi vi = θ̇ · |~ri |2 mi .
i=1 i=1 i=1

and, as |~ri | and mi are constant, ∆HO becomes:

n
X
∆HO = ∆θ̇ · |~ri |2 mi .
i=1

Finally, we can solve for ∆θ̇:

∆HO 150
∆θ̇ = Pn 2m
= 2 + 3 · 0.62 + 4 · 0.42
= 60.7rad/s
i=1 |~
ri | i 3 · 0.5

Thus, our final angular velocity is −20 + 60.7 = 40.7 rad/s in clockwise direction.

16
Assignment
Two bowling balls of mass m, connected by a rod of length L with negligible weight, are lying still on
a smooth frictionless surface as shown in Figure 31. Suddenly, a force F is applied perpendicular
to the rod at a distance b from the center. Using the conservation laws of both linear and angular
momentum, determine expressions for:

1. the direction in which the mass center G accelerates,

2. the magnitude of this acceleration,

3. the rate of change of the angular velocity, θ̈,

Suppose now that the constant

Rt force F is replaced by a hit with a hammer such that the transferred
momentum is given by 0 1 F dt = h kg m/s and assume the duration of the hit, t1 , is so small that
any movement in that time may be ignored. Determine expressions for:

4. the velocity of the mass center G,

5. the angular velocity θ̇,
6. the distance, D, traveled by G when the system has completed one full rotation, θ = 2π rad.
What can you conclude on how this distance depends on m and h? Which parameters can
be used to influence this distance?

L
m 2 x

L
b 2

F G
m

Figure 31: Assignment 3: Connected bowling balls on a slippery surface.

17
A Vectors and differentiation

Vectors
In contrast to scalars, vectors have both a magnitude and direction. A vector is often denoted
with an arrow or as a bold symbol: ~x or x. Figure 32 shows how a product of a vector and a
scalar looks like: a multiplication with a positive number lengthens or shortens the vector and a
negative number causes a flip in direction. Figure 33 shows how a vector R ~ can be written as the
product of its magnitude, |R|~ and a vector with length one, a so-called unit vector, ~e.

~
R ~
R

1~
2R ~e
O O

~
−R

Figure 32: Vector and scalar multipli- Figure 33: Vector R ~ = |R|~
~ e, the mag-
~
cation: αR nitude of the unit vector, |~e| is one.

The sum of two vectors is another vector, R~ = P~ + Q,

~ as shown by Figure 34. Subtracting one
vector from the other is the same as adding its negative, see Figure 35.

P~ 0 −P~ 0 P~ 0
~
R ~
R
~
Q ~0
Q ~
−S ~
Q ~0
Q
~0
−2Q
O P~ O P~
~
−R ~0
−Q
~
S

−2P~ 0
~ = P~ + Q
Figure 34: Vector summation R ~ ~ = P~ −
Figure 35: Vector subtraction: S
~
Q

In many aspects, performing calculations with vectors is similar to using scalars. We will not cover
the more difficult multiplication and division of vectors, but differentiation is used implicitly.

Vector differentiation
We denote the derivative of a scalar x with respect to time, t, as ẋ:
d
x = ẋ
dt

and similarly, the derivative of a vector ~x with respect to time, t, as ~x˙ :

d
~x = ~x˙ .
dt

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Recalling that ~x can be written as |~x|~e, or simply x~e, with x = |~x|, we can apply the chain rule:

d d d d
~x = (x~e) = (x)~e + x (~e) = ẋ~e + x~e˙
dt dt dt dt
We can interpret these two terms as follows: the first term, ẋ~e is the rate of growth or shrinkage of
the vector in the direction it is pointing and the second term is the length of the vector multiplied
with the change of direction of the unit vector, i.e. its rotation. This is depicted graphically in
Figure 36, where a small change in time causes a small change in the vector ~x: d~x = ~x(t+dt)−~x(t),
which can be split into the two components x · d~e and dx · ~e. Dividing by dt produces the chain
rule given above.

dx · ~e
y
d~x

~x(t)
x · d~e

~x(t + dt)

d~e
~e(t)

~e(t + dt)

x
O

Figure 36: Infinitesimal change of a vector

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